Characterizing Atomic Force Microscopy Tip Shape in Use

A new tip characterizer based on the fabrication of multilayer thin films for atomic force microscopy (AFM) was developed to analyze the effective tip shape while in use. The precise structure of this tip characterizer was measured by transmission electron microscopy. Four different types of commercial tips with various radii were characterized by the tip characterizer and by conventional scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results were compared to obtain a relationship between the actual and effective tip shapes. A quantitative analysis was performed of apex radii measured from line profiles of comb-shaped patterns and nanometer-scale knife-edges without the problem of edge uncertainty in the SEM image. Degradation of the AFM tip induced by electron-beam irradiation was studied by using SEM and the tip characterizer. A potential technique for fabricating symmetric AFM tips based on irradiation by an electron beam and a quantitative analysis of changing the tip apex in SEM were examined with AFM using the tip characterizer.