Micro-fabricated piezoelectric cantilever for atomic force microscopy

Abstract

We successfully developed an atomic force microscope (AFM) with a batch-fabricated silicon cantilever with a pyramidal stylus. The high quality lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric thin film allows simultaneously displacement sensing and actuating. The PZT thin film with a dielectric constant of 1000, a remanent polarization of 30 μC/cm2, and a piezoelectric constant of −100 pC/N, which are as high as those of bulk ceramics PZT, has been formed by sputtering at 400 °C and subsequent annealing at 650 °C. A Si(111) mono-atomic step whose height is 4 Å has been observed clearly in an AFM cyclic contact mode by a PZT-AFM lever as a displacement sensor. A PZT-AFM lever has been used as an actuator for z feedback positioning for AFM imaging of a compact disk pit.