Centimeter scale atomic force microscope imaging and lithography

We present a 4 mm(2) image taken with a parallel array of 10 cantilevers, an image spanning 6.4 mm taken with 32 cantilevers, and lithography over a 100 mm(2) area using an array of 50 cantilevers. All of these results represent scan areas that are orders of magnitude larger than that of a typical atomic force microscope (0.01 mm(2)). Previously, the serial nature and limited scan size of the atomic force microscope prevented large scale imaging. Our design addresses these issues by using a modular micromachined parallel atomic force microscope array in conjunction with large displacement scanners. High-resolution microscopy and lithography over large areas are important for many applications, but especially in microelectronics, where integrated circuit chips typically have nanometer scale features distributed over square centimeter areas. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.