Sensitivity Improvement to Active Piezoresistive AFM Probes Using Focused Ion Beam Processing.

This paper presents a comprehensive modeling and experimental verification of active piezoresistive atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilevers, which are the technology enabling high-resolution and high-speed surface measurements. The mechanical structure of the cantilevers integrating Wheatstone piezoresistive was modified with the use of focused ion beam (FIB) technology in order to increase the deflection sensitivity with minimal influence on structure stiffness and its resonance frequency. The FIB procedure was conducted based on the finite element modeling (FEM) methods.