Effects of process parameters on the electrochemical etching of sharp metallic tips with an attached mass.

The electrochemical etching of a metal wire with an attached mass at the end of the immersed wire is a new technique to enhance the yield rate of sharp tips. Unlike conventional electrochemical etching, the yield rate of sharp tips with subhundred nanometer apex could be increased up to around 60% with the attached mass method. In this article, the effects of the magnitude of attached mass and the taping material used for attachment on the yield rate and tip shape are investigated. Also, the variation of tip shape with respect to the temporal shape of applied electric field, constant or pulsed dc, is examined.