JPH07113634A - Probe for scanning probe microscope, manufacture thereof, recording reproducer using probe and fine machining device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a mechanically and electrically stable probe by providing a cantilever consisting of a dielectric thin-film or a conductive thin-film covered with a conductive substance and a low melting-point metallic thin-film and a conductive needle crystal. CONSTITUTION:A silicon nitride thin-film 2 in length of 1mum is prepared on the surface of an Si substrate, and machined through a photolithographic technique. A glass substrate 100 is bonded with the thin-film 2 of a section as the fixed end 160b of a cantilever 160, and the substrate 100 is removed through etching. A Cr thin-film in thickness of 50mum and a Pt thin-film in thickness of 100mum are prepared on a surface reverse to the adhesive surfaces of the thin-film 2 and the substrate 100, and a conductive thin-film 3 is formed. A low melting-point metallic thin-film 4 composed of In is formed in the region of the free end 160a of the lever 160, and a conductive needle crystal 5 made up of zinc oxide is attached. A section in the vicinity of a front end section on the free end 160a side is heated, the thin-film 4 is melted, and a part of the crystal 5 is brought into contact with the melted thin-film 4. The thin-film 4 is cooled and solidified, and the crystal 5 is fixed onto the lever 160, thus completing a probe 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a probe (probe) for a scanning probe microscope, a method for manufacturing the probe, and a high electrical / mechanical stability using the probe, which is stable for a long period of time. The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing device and a fine processing device that can operate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, atomic force microscopes and scanning tunneling microscopes have been developed as devices for observing solid surfaces on an atomic scale. These microscopes are generally called scanning probe microscopes, and by scanning the sample surface with a probe with a sharp tip, various local physical quantities such as atomic force and electrical conductivity are detected and imaged. To do. Therefore, the resolution of the scanning probe microscope depends on the radius of curvature of the tip and the angle of the tip of the probe, and researches for making them smaller are being actively conducted. In a high resolution atomic force microscope,
A probe as shown in FIG. 4A is used. Figure 4
In (a) of, the tip of the conventional atomic force microscope is 1
The cantilever 16 having a length of about 00 μm to 200 μm, and the needle crystal 5 fixed to the free end 16 a side of the cantilever 16 are fixed to the substrate 1 and the like. A metal thin film 41 for reflecting laser light is provided on one surface of the cantilever 16. Needle crystal 5
Zinc oxide or the like is used as the material, and is bonded to the silicon oxide thin film or the silicon nitride thin film 2 forming the cantilever 16 with an epoxy resin 42. On the other hand, when the scanning probe microscope is used as a recording / reproducing device or a microfabrication device, a probe as shown in FIG. 4B is used. A cantilever 16 ′ having a length of about 100 μm to 200 μm is used for a probe for a recording / reproducing device or a microfabrication device, and the surface of the cantilever 16 ′ is covered with a metal 41 ′.
This cantilever 16 'uses an etch pit created by anisotropically etching a part of the silicon crystal surface as a template, and forms a thin film 43 of silicon oxide or silicon nitride on the mold, and forms it into a desired shape by photolithography. To process.
Then, conductivity is imparted to the probe 16b by vapor-depositing a metal 41 'having a thickness of several tens to several hundreds nm on the surface of the cantilever where the needle tip 16b is formed.

[0003]

In the conventional probe of the atomic force microscope, since the needle crystal 5 is fixed to the free end 16a of the thin film cantilever 16 using the epoxy resin 42 or the like, the adhesive strength is improved. The needle crystal 5 is weak and has a problem that the needle-shaped crystal 5 is easily separated from the cantilever 16 when used for observation in water or an organic solvent or observation in a high humidity atmosphere. In addition, when the entire probe is covered with a metal thin film to apply a voltage to the needle-shaped crystal 5, the radius of curvature of the needle tip of the needle-shaped crystal 5 becomes large, or the area between the needle-shaped crystal 5 and the cantilever 16 is increased. There is a problem that the electrical connection becomes unstable. On the other hand, in a probe in which the surface of a cantilever 16 'with a probe made of a thin film of silicon oxide or silicon nitride is coated with a metal thin film, there is a problem that the radius of curvature of the needle tip portion 16b becomes large. . The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a probe that is extremely stable mechanically and electrically and a method for manufacturing the probe. Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide a recording / reproducing device capable of operating stably for a long period of time and a fine processing device capable of obtaining a desired shape.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a probe for a scanning probe microscope according to the present invention comprises a cantilever formed of a dielectric thin film or a conductive thin film coated with a conductive substance, and the cantilever. And a conductive needle crystal fixed to the tip of the cantilever by the low melting point metal thin film. In the above structure, the conductive material for coating is at least 1 selected from gold, platinum and nickel.
It is preferable that one of them is a main component. In addition, the conductive needle-like crystals include zinc oxide, zinc selenide, silicon, germanium, silicon carbide, tin oxide, indium oxide, transition metal and
It is preferably composed of at least one selected from III-V group compound semiconductors. The low melting point metal thin film preferably contains at least one selected from zinc, tin, indium, gallium, and lead as a main component.

In the method of manufacturing a probe for a scanning probe microscope according to the present invention, a low melting point metal thin film is formed at the tip of a cantilever made of a conductive thin film or a dielectric thin film coated with a conductive substance. The first step and the second step of heating and melting the low melting point metal thin film fused to the tip of the cantilever, and adhering one end of the conductive needle crystal to the cantilever with the low melting point metal. It is configured to have. In the above structure, the conductive material for coating is
It is preferable to have at least one selected from gold, platinum and nickel as a main component. In addition, the conductive needle crystal,
Zinc oxide, zinc selenide, silicon, germanium, silicon carbide, tin oxide, indium oxide, transition metal and III-
It is preferably composed of at least one selected from Group V compound semiconductors. The low melting point metal thin film is made of zinc, tin,
At least one selected from indium, gallium and lead
It is preferable that one of them is a main component. The low melting point metal thin film is preferably formed by a vacuum process or a plating process. The low melting point metal thin film has a thickness of 10 n.
It is preferably m or more and 2 μm or less. The second step is an operation of heating and melting the low-melting-point metal thin film formed on the tip of the cantilever, bringing a part of the conductive needle crystal into contact with the melted low-melting-point metal thin film, and then cooling and solidifying. It is preferable to include. In the second step, a conductive needle crystal is attached on the low melting point metal thin film fused to the tip of the cantilever, and then the low melting point metal thin film is heated and melted to form a part of the needle crystal. Preferably includes an operation of cooling and solidifying in a state of being embedded in contact with the low melting point metal thin film. Further, it is preferable that the low melting point metal thin film is irradiated with an electron beam to heat and melt the low melting point metal thin film.

Also, the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a cantilever made of a dielectric thin film or a conductive thin film coated with a conductive substance, a low melting point metal thin film provided at the tip of the cantilever, and the low melting point. A probe having a conductive needle crystal fixed to the tip of the cantilever by a metal thin film is used. In the above structure, it is preferable that the conductive material for coating has at least one selected from gold, platinum and nickel as a main component. Further, the conductive needle crystal is preferably made of at least one selected from zinc oxide, zinc selenide, silicon, germanium, silicon carbide, tin oxide, indium oxide, transition metal and III-V group compound semiconductor. . The low melting point metal preferably contains at least one selected from zinc, tin, indium, gallium, and lead as a main component.

Further, the microfabrication apparatus according to the present invention includes a cantilever formed of a dielectric thin film or a conductive thin film coated with a conductive substance, a low melting point metal thin film provided at the tip of the cantilever, and the low melting point. A probe having a conductive needle crystal fixed to the tip of the cantilever by a metal thin film is used. In the above structure, it is preferable that the conductive material for coating has at least one selected from gold, platinum and nickel as a main component. Further, the conductive needle crystal is preferably made of at least one selected from zinc oxide, zinc selenide, silicon, germanium, silicon carbide, tin oxide, indium oxide, transition metal and III-V group compound semiconductor. . The low melting point metal preferably contains at least one selected from zinc, tin, indium, gallium, and lead as a main component.

[0008]

[Function] A low melting point metal thin film is formed at the tip of a cantilever composed of a conductive thin film or a dielectric thin film coated with a conductive substance, and the low melting point metal thin film is heated and melted to adhere conductive needle crystals. Since it is configured, it is not necessary to cover the entire probe with the metal thin film due to the conductivity of the low melting point metal that is the adhesive. As a result, fine processing is possible without increasing the curvature of the needle tip portion. Further, since the needle-shaped crystal and the cantilever are electrically connected via the low melting point metal as the adhesive, the electrical connection is stable. Further, due to the mechanical strength of the low melting point metal as an adhesive, the needle-shaped crystal does not come off from the cantilever. Further, by using the probe thus constructed in the recording / reproducing apparatus and the microfabrication apparatus, it operates stably even if it is used for a long period of time.

[0009]

【Example】

<Example 1> An example of a probe for a scanning probe microscope and a method for manufacturing the same of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, (a) is a side view showing the configuration of the probe 1.
(B) is the top view. In FIG. 1, the cantilever 160 is composed of a silicon nitride thin film 2 and a conductive thin film 3. On the free end 160a side of the cantilever 160, the needle crystal 5 is fixed to the conductive thin film 3 of the cantilever 160 by the low melting point metal thin film 4. Moreover, the fixed end 160 b side of the cantilever 16 is fixed to the glass substrate 100. The silicon nitride thin film 2 has a thickness of about 1 μm and constitutes the main body of the cantilever 160. The conductive thin film 3 includes a Cr thin film having a thickness of 50 nm and Pt having a thickness of 100 nm.
It is composed of a laminated thin film of thin films and has a function as a reflection film of laser light when detecting the displacement of the cantilever 160 by an optical lever method and as a lead wire for applying a voltage to the needle crystal 5. Therefore, any material having the above-mentioned function such as Au, Ag, Cu, or Ni may be used as the constituent material of the conductive thin film 3. The low melting point metal thin film 4 is made of In, and its thickness is preferably 10 nm or more and 2 μm or less.
Other materials for the low melting point metal thin film 4 include Zn, Sn, and G.
Any metal having a melting point of several hundred degrees or less, such as a metal containing a or Pb as a main component, can be used. Needle crystal 5
Consists of zinc oxide. However, as the acicular crystals 5, besides acicular crystals of zinc oxide, acicular crystals made of zinc selenide, silicon, germanium, silicon carbide, tin oxide, indium oxide, transition metals, or III-V group compound semiconductors are also available. Can be used. However, the acicular crystals of zinc oxide were extremely excellent in workability because they were tetrapod-shaped with a size of 10 to 100 μm. In addition, the cantilever 160 itself,
It is also possible to use a conductive material such as metal, titanium nitride, tin oxide or indium oxide. In this case, it is not necessary to provide the conductive thin film 3. However, cantilever 16
When 0 is made of a transparent material such as tin oxide or indium oxide, it is necessary to form a thin film for reflecting light in order to detect displacement of the cantilever by an optical lever method.

A method of manufacturing the probe 1 having the above structure will be described below. First, a silicon nitride thin film having a thickness of 1 μm was formed on the surface of a Si substrate by a CVD method and processed into a shape shown in FIG. 1B by a photolithography technique. Next, the glass substrate 100 was adhered to the silicon nitride thin film in the portion to be the fixed end 160b of the cantilever 160 by the anodic bonding method, and the Si substrate was removed by etching. Further, a Cr thin film having a thickness of 50 nm and a thickness of 100 are formed on the surface opposite to the bonding surface between the silicon nitride thin film 2 and the glass substrate 100.
A Pt thin film having a thickness of nm was sequentially formed by a sputtering method to form a conductive thin film 3. Next, a low-melting-point metal thin film 4 made of In having a film thickness of 1000 angstrom is formed in a region of about 30 μm on the free end 160a side of the cantilever 160 by vacuum deposition, and the formed low-melting-point metal thin film 4 is formed under an optical microscope. Then, a conductive needle crystal 5 made of zinc oxide on a tetrapod having a size of 30 μm was attached using a tungsten probe. Then, the vicinity of the free end 160a side of the cantilever 160 was heated to melt the formed low melting point metal thin film 4, and a part of the needle crystal 5 was brought into contact with the melted low melting point metal thin film 4. In this state, by cooling and solidifying the low melting point metal thin film 4, the needle crystal 5
Was fixed to the cantilever 160, and the probe 1 was completed.
The thickness of the low melting point metal thin film 4 is 10 nm or more and 20 μ.
If it is within the range of m or less, the needle-shaped crystal 5 can
It was confirmed that it could be sufficiently (strongly) fixed to 0.

<Embodiment 2> The low melting point metal thin film 4 could be formed by plating in addition to the above-mentioned vacuum deposition. As a heating method for melting the low melting point metal thin film 4, in addition to the method of bringing the free end 160a side of the cantilever 160 directly close to the heat source (or vice versa), the needle crystal 5 and the low melting point metal thin film 4 contact Similar results were obtained by irradiating the irradiated part with an electron beam and locally heating and melting the part irradiated with the electron beam.

<Embodiment 3> An embodiment of a combined scanning tunneling microscope / atomic force microscope using the probe according to the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 2
In, the conductive sample stage 7 is fixed to the insulating sample stage 8, and the insulating sample stage 8 is made of a tube-type piezoelectric material.
It is fixed on the dimensional sample driving device 9. The sample 6 is placed on the conductive sample table 7. The probe 1 is the sample 6
The probe 6 is fixed so as to oppose to, and the probe 1 relatively scans the surface of the sample 6 by moving the sample 6 by the three-dimensional sample driving device 9. A laser light source 10 is provided above the probe 1, and the laser light emitted from the laser light source 10 is reflected by the back surface of the cantilever 160 and enters the two-divided photodiode 11. The current flowing through the needle-shaped crystal 5 is extracted to the outside via the metal thin film 3. The sample 6 is electrically connected to the conductive sample stage 7, and the tunnel current flowing between the probe 5 and the sample 6 due to the voltage application from the voltage generator 12 is detected by the current measuring device 13. The deflection of the cantilever 160 is detected by an optical lever type minute displacement measuring mechanism including the laser light source 10 and the two-divided photodiode 11. The output of the current measuring device 13 or the output of the photodiode 11 according to the deflection amount of the cantilever 16 is the position control device 14
Entered in. The position control device 14 uses the current measuring device 13
Of the three-dimensional sample driving device 9 by the output of the photodiode 11 according to the information of the above or the deflection amount of the cantilever 160.
Drive the position of the sample 6 in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction).
Feedback control to the computer 1
The three-dimensional sample driving device 9 is driven by the information from 5, and the position of the sample 6 is raster-scanned, for example, in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction and Y-axis direction perpendicular to the Z-axis direction). Computer 1
Reference numeral 5 captures the deflection amount of the cantilever 160 at a number of measurement points on the surface of the sample 6 and the control amount (displacement amount) of the sample 6 in the Z-axis direction, and displays the data in a gray scale or a graph. Although this microscope can be operated in the atmosphere, it can also be operated in an ultrahigh vacuum for obtaining more detailed information on the surface of the clean sample. Observation of the cleavage plane of graphite with this scanning tunnel microscope / atomic force microscope combination machine confirmed that a clear atomic image with very little noise was obtained in both the scanning tunneling microscope mode and the atomic force microscope mode. It was

<Embodiment 4> Next, an embodiment of a fine processing apparatus using the probe of the present invention will be described. In the scanning tunneling microscope / atomic force microscope combined machine shown in FIG.
A pulse generator was used as the voltage generator 12. The surface of graphite, which is the sample 6, is brought close to the probe 1 so that a repulsive force of about 1 × 10 ⁻⁹ N is always generated between the sample 6 and the probe 1, and the output of the photodiode 11 is adjusted to the output of the position controller 1.
4, the three-dimensional sample driving device 9 feedback-controlled the distance between the sample 6 and the probe 1 in the Z-axis direction. Under this condition, the computer 15 scans the sample 6 in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, and at the desired position on the surface of the sample 6, the voltage generator 12 causes the probe 1 to have a voltage of -4 V and a pulse voltage of 5 ms. Was applied. After that, when the surface was observed by a normal atomic force microscope mode, it was confirmed that a hole having a diameter of 10 nm and a depth of 2 nm was processed at that position. Since the probe 1 of the present invention itself has conductivity and is mechanically and electrically stable, for example, the surface of the conventional dielectric probe shown in FIG. 4B is made conductive. Compared to the case of using a probe coated with a thin film, even if used for a long time, there is no increase in machining holes due to wear of the tip of the probe and there is no decrease in machining probability. It was found that a high-precision microfabrication device can be realized.

<Embodiment 5> Next, the configuration and operation of an embodiment of a recording / reproducing apparatus using the probe of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the recording medium 23 is formed on the silicon substrate 22. The silicon substrate 22 is arranged on a metal disk 21 that can be driven to rotate.
It is electrically connected to the outside via. Also, disk 2
1 is attached to the piezoelectric fine movement device 27, and by driving the piezoelectric fine movement device 27, the substrate 22 arranged on the disk 21 is moved to the X-axis with respect to the needle tip portion 24 of the needle crystal,
It is moved relatively in the Y-axis and Z-axis directions. As the recording medium 23, a 7: 3 copolymer thin film of vinylidene fluoride (VDF) and trifluoroethylene (TrFE) having a thickness of 0.1 μm was used. This recording medium 23 has a specific resistance of 0.0
It was formed on the silicon substrate 22 of 1 Ω · cm by a spin coating method using dimethylformamide as a solvent.

The probe 1 is composed of a thin film cantilever 32, a needle tip 24 of a needle crystal, and the like. The thin film cantilever 32 has a thickness of 0.5 μm, a length of 200 μm, and a width of 40 μm.
Rectangular silicon nitride thin film 26 and Cr (30 nm) / Cu
(200 nm) / Au (80 nm). The needle tip portion 24 is a needle-shaped crystal of zinc oxide having a length of 10 μm. Needle tip 24 is I
It is fixed near the free end of the thin film cantilever 32 by an n-Sn alloy thin film. The specific resistance of the needle crystal of zinc oxide used as the needle tip portion 24 is several Ω · cm. With this configuration, it is possible to reflect the laser light emitted from the red light emitting semiconductor laser 28 described later, and
A voltage is applied to the probe 1 (or the tip portion 24) of the recording medium 2
The voltage induced in 3 can be measured.

The red light emitting semiconductor laser 28 and the two-divided photodiode 29 are for irradiating the back surface of the cantilever 32 with laser light and detecting the reflected light, and constitute an optical lever. Then, the displacement (deflection amount) of the cantilever 32 is measured by this optical lever, and the force converted from the spring constant of the cantilever 32 is detected to detect the force between the needle tip portion 24 of the probe 1 and the recording medium 23. Detect the working force. Further, the infrared light semiconductor laser 30 irradiates the portion of the surface of the recording medium 23 that comes into contact with the tip 24 of the probe 1 with infrared light through the lens 31, and the recording medium 23
It is for inducing a voltage to. Further, the piezoelectric fine movement device 27 has a direction (Z axis direction) perpendicular to the surface of the recording medium 23 and a direction (Z axis direction) orthogonal to both the moving direction (X axis direction) of the recording medium 23 as described above. The position of the probe 1 is controlled in the Y-axis direction.

An information writing operation using the recording / reproducing apparatus configured as above will be described. First, the disk 21 is rotated so that the moving speed of the recording medium 23 under the probe 1 becomes 1 cm / sec. Next, laser light is emitted from the red light emitting semiconductor laser 28 to the back surface of the cantilever 32, and the reflected light is divided into two photodiodes 29.
Then, the force acting between the tip 24 of the probe 1 and the surface of the recording medium 23 is detected. This force is constant (about 1 x 1
0 ^-9 N) and so as to feedback control the relative height of the probe 1 (the distance between Z and the distal end of the needle tip portion 24 in the axial direction surface of the recording medium 23) with a piezoelectric fine movement device 27 To do. In this state, a voltage of 30V is applied to the tip 24 of the probe 1.
A pulse voltage having a time of 5 μsec is applied several times every 10 μsec. In this way, information is written by applying an electric field to the minute area of the recording medium 23 and controlling the dielectric polarization direction of the recording medium 23. By operating in such a region where a small repulsive force acts, the frictional force acting between the needle tip portion 24 of the probe 1 and the recording medium 23 can be reduced. As a result, the recording / reproducing speed can be increased.

Next, an operation of reading the information written in the recording medium 23 will be described. Infrared semiconductor laser 3
0 is used to irradiate an infrared laser light pulse having a chopping frequency of 1 MHz to a portion where the probe tip portion 24 of the probe 1 and the recording medium 23 are in contact with each other. Voltage (pyroelectric effect) induced in the recording medium 23 by irradiation of infrared laser light pulse
Is measured as the voltage of the conductive thin film 25 via the needle tip portion 24. The irradiation area of the infrared laser light pulse has a diameter of about 500 μm because there is no problem even if the irradiation area is sufficiently larger than the area where one signal is recorded. When the voltage of the conductive thin film 25 was detected by the lock-in amplifier, it was several μV or less in the portion where information was not recorded, but it was several tens μV in the portion where information was recorded. In addition, the polarity of the induced voltage was inverted and detected depending on the direction of the electric field during writing. If the output from the conductive thin film 25 is introduced into the high-sensitivity current-voltage converter, the information can be read out even when the current value changes. Further, it was found that the portion where information was recorded was a region having a diameter of about 80 nm. This means that one piece of information can be written and read in a minute area having a diameter of 80 nm, and super-high density recording / reproduction can be performed. Since infrared light is more easily absorbed than visible light, higher sensitivity was obtained when infrared light was used to read information than when visible light was used.

In this embodiment, the case where the dielectric thin film is used as the recording medium and the recording / reproducing is performed by utilizing the local change of the dielectric characteristic has been described. However, since the probe according to the present invention is configured to fix the needle-shaped crystal functioning as the needle tip portion 24 in the vicinity of the free end portion of the cantilever by using the low melting point metal thin film, mechanical and electrical It has excellent characteristics,
And it is stable. Further, even when a magneto-optical material, a crystal phase change material, a layered crystal such as graphite is used as the recording medium, the recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention using the probe has a high S / N ratio and can be used for a long period of time. It can be operated stably.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, a low melting point metal thin film is formed at the tip of a cantilever composed of a conductive thin film or a dielectric thin film coated with a conductive substance to form conductive needle crystals. Since the low melting point metal thin film is configured to be fixed by melting and cooling, the conductivity of the low melting point metal, which is a kind of adhesive, eliminates the need to coat the entire probe with the metal thin film. The curvature of the tip does not increase. Further, since the needle-shaped crystal and the cantilever are electrically connected via the low melting point metal as an adhesive, there is an effect that the electrical connection is stable. Further, due to the mechanical strength of the low melting point metal thin film as an adhesive, there is an effect that the needle-shaped crystal does not come off from the cantilever. In addition, by using the probe configured as described above in a recording / reproducing device or a microfabrication device, information can be stably recorded / reproduced for a long period of time, and the material can be microfabricated into a desired shape. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a side view showing a configuration of an embodiment of a probe for an operation type probe microscope of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a plan view thereof.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a configuration of an embodiment of a scanning probe microscope using the probe of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an embodiment of a recording / reproducing apparatus using the probe of the present invention.

4A is a side view showing a conventional probe for an atomic force microscope, and FIG. 4B is a side view showing a conventional probe for a recording / reproducing device or a microfabrication device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Probe 2: Dielectric thin film 3: Conductive thin film 4: Low melting point metal thin film 5: Needle crystal 6: Sample 7: Conductive sample stage 8: Insulating sample stage 9: Three-dimensional sample driving device 10: Laser Light source 11: 2-division photodiode 12: Voltage generator 13: Current measuring device 14: Position controller 15: Computer 100: Glass substrate 160: Cantilever 160a: Free end 160b: Fixed end 21: Disk 22: Silicon substrate 23: Recording Medium 24: Needle tip 25: Conductive thin film 26: Dielectric thin film 27: Piezoelectric fine movement device 28: Red semiconductor laser 29: Two-divided photodiode 30: Infrared light semiconductor laser 31: Lens

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. A cantilever made of a dielectric thin film or a conductive thin film coated with a conductive substance, a low melting point metal thin film provided at the tip of the cantilever, and a low melting point metal thin film at the tip of the cantilever. A probe for a scanning probe microscope, comprising a fixed conductive needle crystal. 2. The probe for a scanning probe microscope according to claim 1, wherein the conductive material for coating contains at least one selected from gold, platinum and nickel as a main component. 3. The conductive needle crystal is made of at least one selected from zinc oxide, zinc selenide, silicon, germanium, silicon carbide, tin oxide, indium oxide, transition metal and III-V group compound semiconductor. The probe for a scanning probe microscope according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The scanning probe microscope according to claim 1, wherein the low melting point metal thin film contains at least one selected from zinc, tin, indium, gallium and lead as a main component. Probe. 5. A first step of forming a low melting point metal thin film on the tip of a cantilever made of a conductive thin film or a dielectric thin film coated with a conductive substance, and the low melting point fused to the tip of the cantilever. A second step of heating and melting a metal thin film and adhering one end of a conductive needle crystal to the cantilever with the low melting point metal. 6. The method for manufacturing a probe for a scanning probe microscope according to claim 5, wherein the conductive material for coating contains at least one selected from gold, platinum and nickel as a main component. 7. The conductive needle crystal is made of at least one selected from zinc oxide, zinc selenide, silicon, germanium, silicon carbide, tin oxide, indium oxide, transition metal and III-V group compound semiconductor. 7. The method for manufacturing a probe for a scanning probe microscope according to claim 5 or 6. 8. The scanning probe microscope according to claim 5, wherein the low melting point metal thin film contains at least one selected from zinc, tin, indium, gallium and lead as a main component. Manufacturing method for medical probe. 9. The low melting point metal thin film is formed by a vacuum process or a plating process.
9. A method of manufacturing a probe for a scanning probe microscope according to any one of 1 to 8. 10. The method for manufacturing a probe for a scanning probe microscope according to claim 5, wherein the low melting point metal thin film has a thickness of 10 nm or more and 2 μm or less. 11. In the second step, the low melting point metal thin film formed on the tip of the cantilever is heated and melted, and a part of the conductive needle crystal is brought into contact with the melted low melting point metal thin film,
The method for manufacturing a probe for a scanning probe microscope according to any one of claims 5 to 10, further comprising an operation of cooling and solidifying. 12. The second step is to deposit a conductive needle crystal on the low melting point metal thin film fused to the tip of the cantilever and then heat and melt the low melting point metal thin film to obtain the needle crystal. 11. An operation of cooling and solidifying in a state where a part of the metal is buried in contact with the low melting point metal thin film and solidified.
A method for manufacturing a probe for a scanning probe microscope according to any one of 1. 13. The probe for a scanning probe microscope according to claim 5, wherein the low melting metal thin film is irradiated with an electron beam to heat and melt the low melting metal thin film. Manufacturing method. 14. A cantilever made of a dielectric thin film or a conductive thin film coated with a conductive substance, a low melting point metal thin film provided at the tip of the cantilever, and a low melting point metal thin film at the tip of the cantilever. A recording / reproducing apparatus using a probe provided with a fixed conductive needle crystal. 15. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the conductive material for coating contains at least one selected from gold, platinum and nickel as a main component. 16. The conductive needle crystal is zinc oxide, zinc selenide, silicon, germanium, silicon carbide, tin oxide,
16. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 14, comprising at least one selected from indium oxide, a transition metal and a III-V group compound semiconductor. 17. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 14, 15 or 16, wherein the low melting point metal has at least one selected from zinc, tin, indium, gallium and lead as a main component. 18. A cantilever made of a dielectric thin film or a conductive thin film coated with a conductive substance, a low melting point metal thin film provided at the tip of the cantilever, and a low melting point metal thin film at the tip of the cantilever. A fine processing apparatus using a probe provided with a fixed conductive needle crystal. 19. The microfabrication device according to claim 18, wherein the conductive material for coating contains at least one selected from gold, platinum and nickel as a main component. 20. The conductive needle crystal is zinc oxide, zinc selenide, silicon, germanium, silicon carbide, tin oxide,
20. The microfabrication device according to claim 18, comprising at least one selected from indium oxide, a transition metal, and a III-V group compound semiconductor. 21. The fine processing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the low melting point metal has at least one selected from zinc, tin, indium, gallium and lead as a main component.