ABSTRACT
Pyrolytic carbon microelectrodes (PCMEs) are a promising alternative to their conventional metallic counterparts for various applications. Thus, methods for the simple and inexpensive patterning of PCMEs are highly sought after. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of PCMEs through the selective pyrolysis of SU-8 photoresist by irradiation with a low-power, 806 nm, continuous wave, semiconductor-diode laser. The SU-8 was modified by adding Pro-Jet 800NP (FujiFilm) in order to ensure absorbance in the 800 nm range. The SU-8 precursor with absorber was successfully converted into pyrolytic carbon upon laser irradiation, which was not possible without an absorber. We demonstrated that the local laser pyrolysis (LLP) process in an inert nitrogen atmosphere with higher laser power and lower scan speed resulted in higher electrical conductance. The maximum conductivity achieved for a laser-pyrolyzed line was 14.2 ± 3.3 S/cm, with a line width and thickness of 28.3 ± 2.9 µm and 6.0 ± 1.0 µm, respectively, while the narrowest conductive line was just 13.5 ± 0.4 µm wide and 4.9 ± 0.5 µm thick. The LLP process seemed to be self-limiting, as multiple repetitive laser scans did not alter the properties of the carbonized lines. The direct laser writing of adjacent lines with an insulating gap down to ≤5 µm was achieved. Finally, multiple lines were seamlessly joined and intersected, enabling the writing of more complex designs with branching electrodes and the porosity of the carbon lines could be controlled by the scan speed.
ABSTRACT
We present a four-probe setup for measuring temperature of Joule-heated silicon in two independent ways from the same voltage measurement: a method using the thermal dependence of resistivity and a method based on the measured sheet power density. The two methods are compared to optical temperature measurements made by fitting a gray-body model onto data from a commercial spectrometer. The two four-probe temperature measurements are conducted from 890 K to 1540 K, and they converge at temperatures above 1400 K indicating a high degree of self-consistency.
ABSTRACT
We present a comparative study of electrical measurements of graphene using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy in transmission and reflection mode, and compare the measured sheet conductivity values to electrical van der Pauw measurements made independently in three different laboratories. Overall median conductivity variations of up to 15% were observed between laboratories, which are attributed mainly to the well-known temperature and humidity dependence of non-encapsulated graphene devices. We conclude that terahertz time-domain spectroscopy performed in either reflection mode or transmission modes are indeed very accurate methods for mapping electrical conductivity of graphene, and that both methods are interchangeable within measurement uncertainties. The conductivity obtained via terahertz time-domain spectroscopy were consistently in agreement with electrical van der Pauw measurements, while offering the additional advantages associated with contactless mapping, such as high throughput, no lithography requirement, and with the spatial mapping directly revealing the presence of any inhomogeneities or isolating defects. The confirmation of the accuracy of reflection-mode removes the requirement of a specialized THz-transparent substrate to accurately measure the conductivity.
ABSTRACT
Fabrication of ultra-high aspect ratio exchangeable and customizable tips for atomic force microscopy (AFM) using lateral focused ion beam (FIB) milling is presented. While on-axis FIB milling does allow high aspect ratio (HAR) AFM tips to be defined, lateral milling gives far better flexibility in terms of defining the shape and size of the tip. Due to beam-induced deformation, it has so far not been possible to define HAR structures using lateral FIB milling. In this work we obtain aspect ratios of up to 45, with tip diameters down to 9 nm, by a deformation-suppressing writing strategy. Several FIB milling strategies for obtaining sharper tips are discussed. Finally, assembly of the HAR tips on a custom-designed probe as well as the first AFM scanning is shown.
Subject(s)
Microscopy, Atomic Force/instrumentation , Nanotechnology/instrumentation , Equipment DesignABSTRACT
We introduce a highly compact fiber-optic Fabry-Pérot refractive index sensor integrated with a fluid channel that is fabricated directly near the tip of a 32 µm in diameter single-mode fiber taper. The focused ion beam technique is used to efficiently mill the microcavity from the fiber side and finely polish the end facets of the cavity with a high spatial resolution. It is found that a fringe visibility of over 15 dB can be achieved and that the sensor has a sensitivity of ~1731 nm/RIU (refractive index units) and a detection limit of ~5.78 × 10(-6) RIU. This miniature integrated all-in-fiber optofludic sensor may find use in minimal-invasive biomedical applications.
ABSTRACT
Nano- and microelectromechanical structures for in situ operation in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) were fabricated with a turnaround time of 20 min and a resolution better than 100 nm. The structures are defined by focused ion beam (FIB) milling in 135 nm thin membranes of single crystalline silicon extending over the edge of a pre-fabricated silicon microchip. Four-terminal resistance measurements of FIB-defined nanowires showed at least two orders of magnitude increase in resistivity compared to bulk. We show that the initial high resistance is due to amorphization of silicon, and that current annealing recrystallizes the structure, causing the electrical properties to partly recover to the pristine bulk resistivity. In situ imaging of the annealing process revealed both continuous and abrupt changes in the crystal structure, accompanied by instant changes of the electrical conductivity. The membrane structures provide a simple way to design electron-transparent nanodevices with high local temperature gradients within the field of view of the TEM, allowing detailed studies of surface diffusion processes. We show two examples of heat-induced coarsening of gold on a narrow freestanding bridge, where local temperature gradients are controlled via the electrical current paths. The separation of device processing into a one-time batch-level fabrication of identical, generic membrane templates, and subsequent device-specific customization by FIB milling, provides unparalleled freedom in device layout combined with very short effective fabrication time. This approach significantly speeds up prototyping of nanodevices such as resonators, actuators, sensors and scanning probes with state-of-art resolution.
ABSTRACT
Free-standing epitaxially grown nanowires provide a controlled growth system and an optimal interface to the underlying substrate for advanced optical, electrical, and mechanical nanowire device connections. Nanowires can be grown by vapor-phase epitaxy (VPE) methods such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or metal organic VPE (MOVPE). However, VPE of semiconducting nanowires is not compatible with several microfabrication processes due to the high synthesis temperatures and issues such as cross-contamination interfering with the intended microsystem or the VPE process. By selectively heating a small microfabricated heater, growth of nanowires can be achieved locally without heating the entire microsystem, thereby reducing the compatibility problems. The first demonstration of epitaxial growth of silicon nanowires by this method is presented and shows that the microsystem can be used for rapid optimization of VPE conditions. The important issue of the cross-contamination of other parts of the microsystem caused by the local growth of nanowires is also investigated by growth of GaN near previously grown silicon nanowires. The design of the cantilever heaters makes it possible to study the grown nanowires with a transmission electron microscope without sample preparation.
