Single crystal diamond AFM probes with high aspect ratio

07.10.2016

We’re glad to present the new product in our assortment: AFM cantilevers with single crystal diamond (SCD) tips.

This type of probes is represented by a very narrow diamond (CVD-grown) needle glued to a standard tipless Si cantilever.

AFM probes prepared by such technology show several features, especially relevant to AFM scans:

SCD tip’s cone angle is less than 10 degrees. Thus a probe will get into deep trenches and between high particles, providing detailed topography images.
Single crystal diamond tip’s end is very hard. As the result wear of such cantilevers is several times slower than for standard silicon ones. Low deformation of a tip will be the great utility for elasticity investigations and simple nanoindentation or force lithography experiments.
SCD tip has got low surface energy and it works well for sticky biological samples.

SCD AFM cantilevers are constantly being used by our application scientists: Sergey Magonov and Marko Surtchev.
To the right you can see a scan of so-called “Black silicon” relief obtained in their laboratory.
Such surface can be constructed by a special etching experiment and is used in solar cells.Main challenges in visualization of “black silicon” pyramids are their heights that reach 6-7 um.
Standard cantilever can’t get between such high and densely grown structures. But as the one may see from the scan, SCD probes worked well. Sharp pyramid’s shape and well-defined flat areas between them approve high quality of the scan

Now SCD cantilevers are presented in our assortment by the models NSG30/SCD and FMG01/SCD with the same lever’s parameters as of corresponding ones of Golden series. But by the request SCD needles can be glued to any types of tipless cantilevers of Golden and Etalon series.
Also we provide an additional discount 15% for any models of SCD probes till the end of October 2016.

If you’re interested in these AFM cantilevers, please, visit our web-site:
http://www.ntmdt-tips.com/products/group/single-crystal-diamond-cantilever