KR101876728B1 - Manufacturing method of AFM cantilever and the AFM cantilever - Google Patents

Abstract

A first step of forming a first upper protective film and a first lower protective film on the upper part of the second silicon layer and the lower part of the first silicon layer of the SOI substrate in which the first silicon layer, the insulating film and the second silicon layer are sequentially laminated, A second step of forming a first pattern for adjusting the thickness of the cantilever arm on the first upper protective film, a third step of forming a first etching region in the second silicon layer by the thickness of the cantilever arm in the first pattern, Forming a second pattern for forming an upper tilt of the probe on the first upper protective film on which the first pattern is formed; forming a second pattern on the upper surface of the insulating film, The cantilever arm region is formed in the second pattern region by removing the second silicon layer by the thickness of the cantilever arm in the second pattern until the cantilever arm region is exposed, Forming a second upper protective film and a second lower protective film in the entire upper region of the second silicon layer and in the entire lower region of the first silicon layer by removing the first upper protective film and the first lower protective film, Forming a third pattern for forming a lower inclination of the probe on the second lower protective film; and forming a first pattern on the first silicon layer by partially removing the first silicon layer in the third pattern, Forming a second pattern on the second lower protective film by patterning the first pattern and the second pattern on the second lower protective film; Removing the first silicon layer with the third pattern and the fourth pattern until the lower surface of the insulating layer is exposed as a reference to leave only a part of the first silicon layer while forming the cantilever support; , remind Forming a third etch region by removing the insulating film exposed in step 10 and removing the second silicon layer along with the first silicon layer so as to have a probe bottom inclination by using the third etch area, And removing the exposed insulating layer, the second upper protective layer, and the second lower protective layer when a portion of the first silicon layer is removed. The method of claim 1, And a cantilever of an atomic force microscope manufactured by the method. Accordingly, it is possible to easily adjust the inclination of the probe, and the probe can be formed to be inclined outward with respect to the tip of the cantilever arm at an adjusted angle so that the position of the end of the probe can be visually confirmed There is an advantage that acquisition of sample information is possible.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a cantilever manufacturing method and a cantilever of an atomic force microscope capable of easily adjusting the tilt of a probe,

The present invention relates to a cantilever fabrication method of an atomic force microscope and a cantilever of an atomic force microscope, which can facilitate adjustment of the tilt of the probe and tilt the probe outward with respect to the tip of the cantilever arm A method of manufacturing a cantilever of an atomic force microscope and a method of manufacturing a cantilever of an atomic force microscope capable of obtaining accurate sample information by visually confirming the position of the tip of the probe during AFM measurement, .

Recently, with the development of nanotechnology, various attempts have been made to manufacture various kinds of nano devices and components.

Due to the trend of miniaturization and high integration of these products, high resolution measurement and analysis equipments are required separately for accurate failure analysis, process evaluation, and mechanical property measurement and evaluation.

Atomic force microscope (hereinafter referred to as 'AFM') is widely used as an analytical instrument for obtaining specimen surface information such as average illuminance on a specimen surface or a two-dimensional image by scanning a specimen.

In general, an AFM is composed of a cantilever which is formed to be bent upward and downward by a minute force on a support, and a sharp tip formed at one end of the cantilever. Conventionally, AFM is formed by wet etching or dry etching of a semiconductor substrate Cantilevers and probes are being manufactured.

The probe in the conventional AFM is implemented as a triangular pyramid, a quadrangular pyramid, or a cone in the direction perpendicular to the semiconductor substrate. It is difficult to visually confirm the position of the tip of the probe when using the AFM, It is difficult to accurately obtain information about the side wall of the apparatus.

In order to solve these problems, U.S. Patent Nos. 6,958,124 and 8,828,243 propose a technique in which the tip of the probe tip is inclined to the outside, and FIGS. 1 and 2 explain the respective processes.

In the conventional technique shown in FIG. 1, a spray coating and a projection lithography are performed on the back surface of a silicon wafer to form a probe. In this case, a silicon {111} surface The etching speed is very low, so that the angle of the probe is only 54.7 degrees.

In the conventional technique shown in FIG. 2, a wafer (1 wafer) having a pattern formed thereon is bonded to another wafer (2 wafer) to form a probe. Since the etching speed of the surface is very low, the angle of the probe is 54.7 degrees.

The above-described conventional techniques have a disadvantage in that it is not easy to fabricate a probe due to the complexity of the process, and the shape of the probe is not sharp due to various stages of processing, making it difficult to obtain information of the nano scales and providing low resolution information.

Further, since the angle of the tip of the probe is fixed according to the growth direction of the silicon wafer, it is difficult to adjust the angle of the probe and it is difficult to acquire various kinds of sample information, and its application field is limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems and it is an object of the present invention to facilitate adjustment of a tilt of a probe and to form a tilt at an adjusted angle with respect to the tip of a cantilever arm, And to provide a cantilever of an atomic force microscope and a cantilever of an atomic force microscope, wherein the position of the cantilever can be visually confirmed to obtain accurate sample information, and the tilt of the probe can be easily adjusted.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor device comprising: a first upper protective film and a first lower protective film on an upper portion of a second silicon layer and an upper portion of a first silicon layer of an SOI substrate in which an insulating film and a second silicon layer are sequentially laminated, A second step of forming a first pattern for adjusting the thickness of the cantilever arm on the first upper protective film, a second step of forming a first pattern on the second silicon layer by a thickness of the cantilever arm A fourth step of forming a second pattern for forming an upper slope of the probe on the first upper protective film on which the first pattern is formed; The cantilever arm region is formed in the second pattern region by removing the second silicon layer by the thickness of the cantilever arm in the second pattern until the upper surface of the insulating film is exposed with reference to the etching region, A second upper protective film and a second upper protective film are formed on the upper entire region of the second silicon layer and the entire lower region of the first silicon layer, A third step of forming a third lower protective film on the second lower protective film, a third step of forming a third pattern for forming a lower tilt of the probe on the second lower protective film, Forming a second pattern on the first lower silicon layer; forming a second pattern on the first lower silicon layer by removing a part of the first pattern; The first silicon layer is removed in the third pattern and the fourth pattern until the lower surface of the insulating layer is exposed with reference to the second etching region in the eighth step to form the cantilever support, Partly Removing the insulating film exposed in the tenth step to form a third etching region, and forming the second silicon layer in the third etching region using the third etching region, And removing the exposed insulating film, the second upper protective film, and the second lower protective film when the first silicon layer is partially removed. The method of claim 1, And a cantilever of an atomic force microscope manufactured by the method. The present invention relates to a cantilever of an atomic force microscope,

The inclination of the probe may be inclined by 10 to 80 degrees with respect to the tip of the cantilever arm.

The upper inclination of the probe is preferably determined according to the shape or etching condition of the second pattern, and the upper and lower inclination of the probe may be determined depending on the crystal direction of the first silicon layer and the second silicon layer , The shape of the second pattern, the shape of the third etching region, or the wet etching condition.

It is preferable that the first silicon layer and the second silicon layer have any one of <100>, <110> and <111> crystal directions and have the same crystal direction or different crystal directions.

The first pattern, the second pattern, the third pattern, and the fourth pattern are preferably formed by a resist pattern formed by a photolithography process.

The first upper protective film, the first lower protective film, the second upper protective film, and the second lower protective film are preferably formed of one or more of SiN _x , SiO _2, and Si ₃ N ₄ , .

The removal of the first upper protective film, the first lower protective film, the second upper protective film, the second lower protective film, and the insulating film is preferably performed by wet etching or dry etching.

Further, the dry etching is made of a _{BCl 3, SiCl 4, Cl 2} , HBr, SF 6, CF 4, C 4 F 8, CH 4, CHF 3, NF 3, CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), H 2 and O ₂ At least one gas selected from the group consisting of:

The removal of the first silicon layer and the second silicon layer is preferably performed by wet etching.

Here, the wet etching is performed by a wet etching process using an aqueous solution containing KOH, N (CH ₃ ) ₄ OH NaOH, NH ₄ OH, H ₂ SO ₄ , HF, HCl, H ₃ PO ₄ , HNO ₃ , CH ₃ COOH, H ₂ O _{2, 2} O, and the concentration of the etching solution is in the range of 5 to 80%, or the temperature of the etching solution is preferably in the range of 30 to 150 ° C.

It is preferable that the cantilever support has a step on the top.

Alternatively, it is preferable to perform oxide film formation and removal to reduce the size of the tip of the probe after the twelfth step.

The present invention relates to a cantilever of an atomic force microscope, and more particularly to a cantilever of an atomic force microscope, in which a tilt of a probe is formed by tilting outward with respect to a tip of a cantilever arm so that a position of an end of a probe can be visually confirmed at the time of AFM measurement, So that it is possible to acquire accurate sample information of high resolution.

In addition, the method of manufacturing a cantilever for an atomic force microscope according to the present invention can easily manufacture the cantilever by changing the inclination of the probe according to the intended use or purpose by a simple process, have.

In addition, according to the method of manufacturing a cantilever for an atomic force microscope according to the present invention, it is possible to adjust the thickness of the cantilever and to easily adjust the tilt of the probe by introducing a separate reference pattern so that the thickness of the cantilever, It is possible to provide a high quality cantilever for an atomic force microscope with excellent accuracy and reproducibility.

Further, the shape and inclination of the probe can be easily controlled according to the shape and etching conditions of the etching pattern or the crystal orientation of the first silicon layer and the second silicon layer, the shape of the second pattern, or the shape of the third etching region, The shape can be changed variously, and the application field can be further enlarged and used.

In addition, the method of manufacturing a cantilever for an atomic force microscope according to the present invention makes it possible to simultaneously etch a pattern for determining a tilt of a cantilever support and a lower portion of a probe, thereby facilitating the formation of a probe and a simple manufacturing method.

As a result, the yield of the cantilever probe manufacturing process can be improved, and the accuracy of the process and the reliability of the product can be improved, thereby reducing the process cost.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are schematic views of a conventional method of manufacturing a cantilever. FIG.
3 is a schematic diagram of a method of manufacturing a cantilever for an atomic force microscope according to the present invention.
Figure 4 - shows various embodiments of probes according to the invention.
5 is a schematic diagram of various embodiments of a probe according to the present invention;
Figure 6 - shows various embodiments of a second pattern of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a view showing a tilt angle of a probe which can be formed according to a crystal plane of a silicon layer according to the present invention; FIG.

The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention are different, but need not be mutually exclusive. For example, the particular shapes, structures, and angles described herein may be embodied in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in connection with one embodiment. It is also to be understood that the position or arrangement of the individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense,

Where stated, the appended claims, along with all ranges equivalent to those claimed,

Only the term is limited. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate the same or similar functions in various aspects, and temperatures, concentrations, pattern shapes, angles, lengths, crystal orientations and crystal planes, and the like, and their shapes may be expressed for convenience.

The present invention relates to a cantilever of an atomic force microscope, and more particularly to a cantilever of an atomic force microscope, in which a tilt of a probe is formed by tilting outward with respect to a tip of a cantilever arm so that a position of an end of a probe can be visually confirmed at the time of AFM measurement, So that accurate sample information of high resolution can be obtained.

As a result, the yield of the cantilever probe manufacturing process can be improved, and the accuracy of the process and the reliability of the product can be improved, thereby reducing the process cost.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 4 is a view showing various embodiments of a probe according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a probe according to various embodiments of the probe according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a method of manufacturing a cantilever for an atomic force microscope according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a view showing various embodiments of the second pattern and the third etching region of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a tilt angle of the probe which can be formed along the crystal plane of the silicon layer according to the present invention Fig.

3, a method of manufacturing a cantilever of an atomic force microscope in which the tilt of the probe is easy to control according to the present invention is characterized in that the first silicon layer 10, the insulating film 20 and the second silicon layer 30 A first step of forming a first upper protective film (40) and a first lower protective film (50) on the second silicon layer (30) and the first silicon layer (10) of sequentially stacked SOI substrates; A second step of forming a first pattern 100 for controlling the thickness of the cantilever arm 2 on the first upper protective film 40 and a second step of forming a second pattern 100 on the second silicon layer 30 A third step of forming a first etching region 200 by a thickness of the cantilever arm 2 and a third step of forming an upper tilt of the probe 3 on the first upper protective film 40 on which the first pattern 100 is formed Forming a second pattern (300) for forming the second pattern (30) on the first etching region (200) until the upper surface of the insulating layer (20) is exposed with respect to the first etching region The cantilever arm region 400 is formed in the region of the second pattern 300 by removing the second silicon layer 30 as much as the thickness of the cantilever arm 2, A first upper protective film 40 and a second lower protective film 50 are formed on the entire upper surface of the second silicon layer 30 and the first silicon layer 10 A sixth step of forming a second upper protective film 60 and a second lower protective film 70 on the whole lower region of the probe 3 and forming a lower inclined portion of the probe 3 on the second lower protective film 70; Forming a second pattern on the first silicon layer by removing a portion of the first silicon layer from the third pattern to form a third pattern; And forming a fourth pattern 700 for forming the cantilever support 1 on the second lower protective film 70 on which the third pattern 500 is formed; The first and second patterns 500 and 700 are patterned in the third pattern 500 and the fourth pattern 700 until the lower surface of the insulating layer 20 is exposed with reference to the second etching region 600 in the eighth step. 10) to remove the first silicon layer (10) while leaving a part of the first silicon layer (10) while forming the cantilever support (1); removing the insulating film (20) exposed in the tenth step Forming an etch region 800 and using the third etch region 800 to remove the second silicon layer 30 with a portion of the first silicon layer 10 to have a lower tilt of the probe 3 And removing the exposed insulating layer 20, the second upper protective layer 60, and the second lower protective layer 70 when a portion of the first silicon layer 10 is removed. .

The slope of the probe 3 of the cantilever according to the present invention thus manufactured is inclined by 10 to 80 degrees with respect to the tip of the cantilever arm 2. The slope of the slope of the probe 3 The shape of the probe 3, the thickness of the cantilever, and the shape of the cantilever support 1 are progressed by etching the first silicon layer 10 and the second silicon layer 30.

In particular, the probe 3 is formed by being inclined outward with respect to the tip of the cantilever arm 2, and the inclination can be easily changed according to the crystal orientation of the silicon layer, the shape of the etching pattern, will be.

A method of manufacturing a cantilever of an atomic force microscope in which the tilt of the probe 3 according to the present invention is easy to control is as follows. First, a first silicon layer 10, an insulating film 20 and a second silicon layer 30 are sequentially stacked (SOI) substrate, and the insulating film 20 uses a silicon oxide film. Here, a first upper protective film 40 and a first lower protective film 50 are formed on the second silicon layer 30 and the first silicon layer 10, respectively (first step).

The first upper protective film 40 and the first lower protective film 50 are formed on the first silicon layer 10 and the second silicon layer 30 during the etching process performed on the first silicon layer 10 and the second silicon layer 30. [ A material having a high etching selection ratio is used for the first silicon layer 10 and the second silicon layer 30 for protecting the silicon layer 30 and forming an etching region in a specific portion.

Preferably, the first upper protective film 40 and the first lower protective film 50 are formed of one or more of SiN _x , SiO _2, and Si ₃ N ₄ in a single layer or in multiple layers, Alternately, and they are formed by a known physical and chemical thin film deposition process.

The first silicon layer 10 and the second silicon layer 30 may be formed of silicon having various crystal orientations and may be formed of any one of the <110> and <111> Or a silicon layer having various structures such as a single crystal, a polycrystal, and an amorphous silicon layer may be used. The first silicon layer 10 and the second silicon layer 30 may have the same crystal orientation or different crystal orientation with respect to each other.

That is, conventionally, the tip of the probe 3 may be formed in a triangular shape formed at a position perpendicular to the top surface of the cantilever arm 2 using a <100> direction silicon layer, or only a specific {111} The tips of the probes 3 are formed only at 54.7 degrees with respect to the tips of the cantilever arms 2 by the anisotropic wet etching. However, in the present invention, the silicon layer of various crystal orientations is used, So that the probe 3 can be easily manufactured.

The control of the inclination of the probe 3 in the present invention can be implemented by various combinations of not only the crystal direction of the silicon layer but also the shape of the etching pattern, the etching condition, and the like, which will be described later.

A first pattern 100 for controlling the thickness of the cantilever arm 2 is formed on the first upper protective film 40 (second step). The first pattern 100 is preferably formed by a resist pattern formed by a photolithography process.

That is, in order to pattern the first upper protective film 40 formed on the second silicon layer 30, a photosensitive resist layer is coated on the first upper protective film 40 and then patterned by a patterning process by a photolithography process A resist pattern is formed, and the first pattern 100 is formed on the first upper protective film 40 by dry etching or wet etching using the resist pattern as an etching mask.

The dry etching of the first upper protective film 40 may be performed by using a dry etching method such as BCl ₃ , SiCl ₄ , Cl ₂ , HBr, SF ₆ , CF ₄ , C ₄ F ₈ , CH ₄ , CHF ₃ , NF ₃ , CFCs chlorofluorocarbons), is done by using at least any one or more gases selected from the group consisting of H ₂ and O _2, the wet _{etch, KOH, N (CH 3)} 4 OH NaOH, NH 4 OH, H 2 SO 4, HF , HCl, H ₃ PO ₄ , HNO ₃ , CH ₃ COOH, H ₂ O _2, and H ₂ O.

The first pattern 100 formed on the first upper protective layer 40 provides a region where the second silicon layer 30 is exposed and the second silicon layer 30 is patterned into the first pattern 100. [ Thereby forming an etched region.

The thickness of the second silicon layer 30 etched by the first pattern 100 serves as a reference for determining the thickness of the cantilever arm 2 so that the first pattern 100 is formed on the cantilever arm 2, Is provided as a reference pattern for adjusting the thickness of the substrate.

The first etch region 200 is formed in the second silicon layer 30 by the thickness of the cantilever arm 2 in the first pattern 100 in the third step, 40 totally protects the second silicon layer 30 from the etching process and protects the second silicon layer 30 with the first pattern 100 formed on the first top protective film 40 from the surface of the cantilever arm 2 So that the first etching region 200 is formed.

That is, the first etching region 200 of the second silicon layer 30 is etched by the thickness of the cantilever arm 2, so that the first pattern 100 is formed by the second pattern 300, 2 When the silicon layer 30 is etched to set the thickness of the cantilever arm 2, it becomes a reference pattern.

A second pattern 300 for forming the upper slope of the probe 3 is formed on the first upper protective film 40 on which the first pattern 100 is formed (step 4).

The first etch region 200 is formed in the second silicon layer 30 by the thickness of the cantilever arm 2 by the first pattern 100 and then the other region of the first upper protective film 40 A second pattern 300 is formed at a position where the cantilever arm 2 is to be formed. The second pattern 300 is also formed by a resist pattern formed by a photolithography process at a position where the cantilever arm 2 is to be formed in the same manner as the first pattern 100.

When the second silicon layer 30 is etched with the second pattern 300, the cantilever arm region 400 is formed and the tip of the probe 3 is inclined at the tip of the cantilever arm 2.

The second silicon layer 30 is formed on the cantilever arm 30 as the second pattern 300 until the upper surface of the insulating layer 20 is exposed with reference to the first etching region 200 of the third step 2, the cantilever arm region 400 is formed in the second pattern region 300 to form the upper tilt of the probe 3 (Step 5).

That is, the second pattern 300 is etched simultaneously with respect to the first etch region 200 of the second silicon layer 30 formed by the first pattern 100, When the upper surface of the insulating layer 20 is exposed, the cantilever arm region 400 is formed in the region of the second pattern 300 by the thickness of the cantilever arm 2, so that the etching process is stopped. The edge of the region 400 forms the upper slope of the probe 3. [

Here, the removal of the second silicon layer 30 for forming the first etching region 200 and the canterraver region is performed by a wet etching process, and the second silicon layer 30 is subjected to anisotropic etching .

The wet etch can be performed by using a solution of KOH, N (CH ₃ ) ₄ OH NaOH, NH ₄ OH, H ₂ SO ₄ , HF, HCl, H ₃ PO ₄ , HNO ₃ , CH ₃ COOH, H ₂ O ₂ and H ₂ O It is preferable to use an etching solution containing at least one of them. It is preferable to adjust the concentration of the etching solution to 5 to 80%, adjust the temperature of the etching solution to 30 to 150 ° C, Since the shape of the second pattern 300 can be variously changed, the surface of the silicon exposed after the etching process can be controlled, so that the inclination of the probe 3 can be variously controlled.

Here, when the concentration of the etching solution is lower than 5% or the temperature is lower than 30 ° C, the etching rate of the silicon becomes slow, which is undesirable. If the concentration of the etching solution is higher than 80% It is difficult to control the thickness of the cantilever and control the tilt of the probe because the etching rate is high.

As described above, since the degree of anisotropic etching is changed according to the crystal direction of the second silicon layer 30 and the exposed surface of the etching portion is changed, the control of the inclination of the top surface of the probe 3 is facilitated do.

Therefore, it is possible to form the probe 3 having a desired gradient and shape by changing the etching conditions such as the concentration, the kind, and the pattern shape of the etching solution or by previously setting the crystal direction of the second silicon layer 30 will be.

As described above, the thickness of the cantilever arm 2 is set such that the first etching region 200 formed on the first pattern 100 serves as a reference, If the etch process is performed until the insulating layer 20 is exposed on the basis of the thickness of the cantilever arm 2 and the thickness of the cantilever arm 2 is greater than the thickness of the cantilever arm 2, The cantilever arm region 400 having the thickness of the cantilever arm 2 designed as the second pattern 300 is formed.

According to the formation of the cantilever arm region 400, the cantilever support 1 is formed in a shape having a step 4 on the top. That is, the cantilever arm region 400 simultaneously determines the upper tilt of the cantilever supporter 1 and the upper tilt of the probe 3.

The step 4 formed on the cantilever supporter 1 can prevent the probe 3 from being damaged by making the height of the cantilever supporter 1 and the height of the probe 3 equal to or different from each other.

Meanwhile, the second pattern 300 may be formed in various shapes according to the inclination of the probe 3 (see FIG. 6). That is, since the anisotropic etching degree of the second silicon layer 30 is changed according to the shape of the second pattern 300, the inclination of the probe 3 can be easily adjusted according to the shape of the second pattern 300 have.

That is, the present invention can form the cantilever arm 2 having a constant thickness and the inclination of the cantilever probe 3 at the same time by introducing the reference pattern of the first pattern 100 and the first etching region 200 , The thickness of the cantilever, the tilt of the probe 3, and the accuracy and reproducibility of the shape can be achieved by a simple process.

Then, the first upper protective film 40 and the first lower protective film 50 are removed, and the entire upper region of the second silicon layer 30 and the entire upper region of the first silicon layer 10, A protective film 60 and a second lower protective film 70 are formed (step 6). The second upper protective film 60 and the second lower protective film 70 protect the second silicon layer 30 and the first silicon layer 10 from the etching process. 40 and the first lower protective film 50 on the second silicon layer 30. In addition, the removal of the first upper protective film 40 and the first lower protective film 50 is performed by dry or wet etching as described above.

Then, a third pattern 500 for forming the lower inclination of the probe 3 is formed on the second lower protective film 70 (Step 7). Then, the first silicon layer 10 is partially removed by the third pattern 500 to form a second etching region 600 in the first silicon layer 10 (Step 8) A fourth pattern 700 for forming a cantilever support is formed on a second lower protective film 70 on which a pattern 500 is formed (Step 9).

As described above, the second lower protective film 70 may be formed of one or more of SiN _x , SiO _2, and Si ₃ N ₄ , or may be formed of one or more layers.

A third pattern is formed on the second lower protective film 70 such that a portion of the first silicon layer 10 is exposed so that the lower tilt of the probe 3 can be formed in the same manner as the first pattern 100. [ (500). The third pattern 500 is formed on the two regions of the first silicon layer 10 and one of the third patterns 500 is a reference pattern for etching the first silicon layer 10 until the insulating layer 20 is exposed. And one to form the lower tilt of the probe 3.

A fourth pattern 700 for forming the cantilever support is formed on the second lower protective film 70 on which the third pattern 500 is formed and is also formed by the same photolithography process as the first pattern 100 And is realized by a resist pattern.

The third pattern 500 and the fourth pattern 700 may be formed on the second silicon substrate 500 in a manner similar to the third pattern 500 and the fourth pattern 700 until the lower surface of the insulating film 20 is exposed with reference to the second etching region 600 in the eighth step. The layer 30 is removed to form the cantilever support 1, and the first silicon layer 10 is removed while leaving only a part of the first silicon layer 10 (Step 10).

Here, a portion of the first silicon layer 10 remaining is left to the thickness of the second etching region 600.

The etching process is simultaneously performed on the third pattern 500 (the state where the second etching region 600 is already formed) and the fourth pattern 700 formed in the eighth and ninth steps, The third etching region 800 is formed in the first pattern 500 to form the lower inclination of the probe 3 and the fourth pattern 700 forms the lower portion of the cantilever support 1, When the insulating layer 20 is exposed on the second etch region 600 and the process stops, only a portion of the first silicon layer 10 remains in the fourth pattern 700 region.

That is, the pattern formation process for determining the inclination of the cantilever support 1 and the lower portion of the probe 3 is performed simultaneously by the third pattern 500 and the fourth pattern 700, .

Then, the insulating layer 20 exposed in the tenth step is removed to form a third etching region 800, and the second silicon layer 30 is etched using the third etching region 800 3) together with a part of the first silicon layer 10 to have a lower inclination (Step 11).

That is, in the tenth step, the insulating layer 20 is etched until the insulating layer 20 is exposed on the basis of the third pattern 500. When the exposed insulating layer 20 is removed, A part of the first silicon layer 10 corresponding to the thickness and the third etching region 800 are formed.

When the second silicon layer 30 is etched to have the lower inclination of the probe 3 by using the third etching region 800, the remaining portion of the first silicon layer 10 is removed The formation of the cantilever support 1, the arm, and the probe 3 is completed.

The shape of the cantilever supporter 1 and the inclination of the probe 3 and the like are the same as the crystal orientation of the first silicon layer 10 and the second silicon layer 30, , The shape of the third etching region 800, the wet etching condition, and the pattern shape, and the probe 3 of various shapes can be formed by combining these conditions.

Thereafter, when the first silicon layer 10 is partially removed, the exposed insulating layer 20 and the second upper protective layer 60 and the second lower protective layer 70 are removed to form the cantilever according to the present invention. .

Alternatively, oxide film formation and removal may be performed to reduce the size of the end of the probe 3 after the twelfth step.

The cantilever according to the present invention thus fabricated has a cantilever support 1 and a cantilever 2 which is located on the cantilever support 1 and has one side floated and the end of the floating cantilever arm 2 And the probe 3 is formed such that the inclination of the probe 3 is inclined by 10 to 80 degrees with respect to the tip of the cantilever arm 2. [

The inclination of the probe 3, the shape of the probe 3, the thickness of the cantilever and the shape of the cantilever support 1 can be controlled by etching the first silicon layer 10 and the second silicon layer 30 In particular, the probe 3 is formed by tilting outward with respect to the tip of the cantilever arm 2, and the tilt can be controlled by controlling the crystal orientation of the silicon layer used as a substrate, the shape of the etch pattern, Conditions and the like.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 4 is a view showing various embodiments of a probe according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a probe according to various embodiments of the probe according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a method of manufacturing a cantilever for an atomic force microscope according to the present invention. And FIG. 6 is a view showing various embodiments of the second pattern and the third etching region of the present invention.

First, on the second silicon layer 30 of the SOI substrate in which the first silicon layer 10, the insulating film 20 and the second silicon layer 30 are sequentially stacked, and on the bottom of the first silicon layer 10, (The first upper protective film 40 and the second upper protective film 60).

Then, the first upper protective film 40 is patterned through a photolithography process, and then the first upper protective film 40 is patterned through dry etching to form the first pattern 100.

Subsequently, the second silicon layer 30 is removed by wet etching at 70 ° C. in a 50% KOH: DI = 1: 3 ratio etch solution so that the second silicon layer 30 is left as thick as the desired cantilever arm 2, A second pattern 300 is formed on the first upper protective film 40 to form the upper inclination of the cantilever probe 3 through the photolithography process and the dry etching process.

The second silicon layer 30 is immersed in an etching solution having a ratio of 50% KOH: DI = 1: 3 at 70 ° C to perform wet etching, and the insulating film 20 is formed with the first pattern 100 formed in advance The etching process is stopped so that the cantilever arm region 400 is formed on the second pattern 300 region by the thickness of the cantilever arm 2. [

Then, the entire first upper protective film 40 and the first lower protective film 50 are immersed and removed in a 50% HF: DI = 1: 5 etching solution to form an upper portion of the second silicon layer 30, A second upper protective film 60 and a second lower protective film 70 are formed on the lower layer 10 to form a multi-layered protective film consisting of a silicon oxide film and a silicon nitride film.

A third pattern 500 is formed in the second lower protective film 70 by a photolithography process and a dry etching process and then the first silicon layer 10 is etched at 70 ° C under 50% KOH: DI = 1 : 3 ratio etch solution and wet etched to form a second etch region 600. [

The depth of the second etching region 600 may be less than the thickness of the second silicon layer 30 to etch the second silicon layer 30 to form the lower tilt of the probe 3 1 &lt; / RTI &gt; silicon layer 10 is removed.

Thereafter, the second lower protective film 70 is etched through a dry etching process to form the fourth pattern 700 to form the cantilever support 1 through the photolithography process, DI = 1: 3 ratio in the etching solution to remove the first silicon layer 10.

At this time, if the insulating film 20 appears on the third pattern 500 for forming the lower inclination of the cantilever probe 3, the etching process is stopped to form the pattern for forming the lower tilt of the cantilever support 1 and the probe 3 So that the shape remains in the first silicon layer 10.

The insulating layer 20 is removed by dry etching using the pattern of the remaining silicon layer 10 as a mask to form the lower tilt of the probe 3 with the remaining first silicon layer 10, 3 etching regions 800 are formed.

Then, the second silicon layer 30 is immersed in an etching solution of 50% KOH at 70 ° C, wet etching is performed to form a lower inclination of the probe 3, and the probe 3 is completed.

The remaining second upper protective film 60 and the second lower protective film 70 are then immersed in an etching solution containing 50% HF: DI = 1: 5 ratio.

In order to reduce the size of the end of the probe 3 of the completed cantilever, an oxide film may be formed and removed to reduce the tip size of the cantilever probe 3 or sharpen the peak of the probe 3 .

FIG. 4 shows various embodiments of the probe 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 (a) is a cross-sectional view of a cantilever arm region having a predetermined thickness by a first pattern 100 and a second pattern 300, And the upper tilt of the probe 3 in a state where the probe 400 is formed.

Fig. 4 (b) shows the upper slope of the probe 3 at 45 degrees, Fig. 4 (c) shows the upper slope of the probe 3 at 54.7 4D shows a case in which the top surface of the probe 3 has an inclination of 72.4 degrees. The top surface of the probe 3 has a slope of 72.4 degrees, The upper slope appears.

5 is a schematic view showing various examples of the upper tilt and the lower tilt of the probe 3. In general, the silicon substrate has a silicon {111} plane at a tilt of 54.7 degrees in a <100> direction silicon substrate, 113} plane, and 45 degrees represents a silicon {110} plane.

Here, the concentration of the etching solution may be adjusted to 5 to 80%, the temperature of the etching solution may be controlled to 30 to 150 ° C or the etching solution may be added to the etching solution The inclination of the probe 3 may be variously adjusted.

6 illustrates various embodiments of the second pattern 300 and the third etching region 800 of the present invention. In the second pattern 300 and the third etching region 800 shown in FIG. 6A, The slope of the probe 3 or the inclination of the lower portion of the probe 3 is 54.7 degrees and the second pattern 300 and the third etching region 800 as shown in FIG. The slope of the probe 3 or the slope of the bottom of the probe 3 is 45 degrees and 72.4 degrees, respectively, by exposing the silicon {110} plane or the {113} plane depending on the concentration of the etching solution, The shape of the pattern 300 and the third etching region 800 may be variously changed so that the surface of the silicon exposed after the etching process can be controlled so that the inclination of the probe 3 can be variously adjusted.

FIG. 7 shows the tilt angle of the probe which can be formed along the crystal plane of the silicon layer. In the present invention, the crystal orientation of the first silicon layer 10 and the second silicon layer 30 is adjusted Alternatively, the concentration of the etching solution may be adjusted to 5 to 80%, the temperature of the etching solution may be adjusted to 30 to 150 ° C., the type of the etching solution may be controlled, or the second pattern 300 and the third etching region 800 ) Can be variously changed so that the surface of the silicon exposed after the etching process can be controlled, so that the slope of the probe 3 can be variously adjusted.

As described above, the present invention relates to a cantilever of an atomic force microscope, and more particularly, to a cantilever of an atomic force microscope, in which a tilt of a probe is formed by tilting outward with respect to a tip of a cantilever arm so that a position of an end of a probe can be visually confirmed, The peak of the probe can be formed in a sharp manner, so that high-resolution accurate sample information can be acquired.

In addition, the method of manufacturing a cantilever for an atomic force microscope according to the present invention is advantageous in that it can be manufactured by easily changing the slope of the probe according to the use purpose or purpose by a simple process, have.

The method of manufacturing a cantilever for an atomic force microscope according to the present invention introduces a separate reference pattern or an etching region to easily adjust the thickness of the cantilever and adjust the tilt of the probe so that the thickness of the cantilever, It is possible to provide a cantilever for a high-quality atomic force microscope with excellent accuracy and reproducibility of tilt and shape.

Further, the shape and inclination of the probe can be easily controlled according to the shape and etching conditions of the etching pattern or the crystal orientation of the first silicon layer and the second silicon layer, the shape of the second pattern, or the shape of the third etching region, The shape can be changed variously, and the application field can be further enlarged and used.

In addition, the method of manufacturing a cantilever for an atomic force microscope according to the present invention can simultaneously etch a pattern for determining a tilt of a cantilever supporter and a lower portion of a probe, thereby facilitating the formation of a probe and simplifying the manufacturing method.

As a result, the yield of the cantilever probe manufacturing process can be improved, and the accuracy of the process and the reliability of the product can be improved, thereby reducing the process cost.

1: Cantilever support 2: Cantilever arm
3: Probe 4: Step
10: first silicon layer 20: insulating film
30: second silicon layer 40: first upper protective film
50: first lower protective film 60: second upper protective film
70: second lower protective film 100: first pattern
200: first etching region 300: second pattern
400: cantilever arm area 500: third pattern
600: second etching region 700: fourth pattern
800: third etching region

Claims (17)

A first step of forming a first upper protective film and a first lower protective film on the upper portion of the second silicon layer and the lower portion of the first silicon layer of the SOI substrate in which the first silicon layer, the insulating film and the second silicon layer are sequentially laminated;
A second step of forming a first pattern for adjusting the thickness of the cantilever arm on the first upper protective film;
A third step of forming a first etching region in the second silicon layer by the thickness of the cantilever arm in the first pattern;
A fourth step of forming a second pattern for forming an upper tilt of the probe on the first upper protective film on which the first pattern is formed;
The second silicon layer is removed by the thickness of the cantilever arm in the second pattern until the upper surface of the insulating film is exposed with respect to the first etching region of the third step, A fifth step of forming an arm region and forming an upper tilt of the probe;
And a second upper protective film (60) and a second lower protective film are formed on the entire upper region of the second silicon layer and the entire lower region of the first silicon layer, respectively, by removing the first upper protective film and the first lower protective film Step 6;
A seventh step of forming a third pattern for forming a lower inclination of the probe on the second lower protective film;
An eighth step of forming a second etching region in the first silicon layer by partially removing the first silicon layer in the third pattern;
A ninth step of forming a fourth pattern for forming a cantilever support on a second lower protective film on which the third pattern is formed;
The first silicon layer is removed in the third pattern and the fourth pattern until the lower surface of the insulating layer is exposed with reference to the second etching region in the eighth step to form the cantilever support, A tenth step of removing only a part of the layer;
Forming a third etching region by removing the insulating film exposed in the step 10, and removing the second silicon layer together with a part of the first silicon layer so as to have a probe lower inclination by using the third etching region, Step 11;
And removing the exposed insulating layer, the second upper protective layer, and the second lower protective layer when a portion of the first silicon layer is removed. The method of claim 1, wherein the cantilever of the atomic force microscope Gt; The probe according to claim 1,
Wherein the tip of the cantilever arm is inclined by 10 to 80 degrees with respect to the tip of the cantilever arm. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the top slope of the probe
Wherein the shape of the second pattern is determined according to the shape or etching condition of the second pattern. The method of claim 1, wherein the top and bottom tilt of the probe
Wherein the first silicon layer and the second silicon layer are formed by combining at least one of the crystal direction of the first silicon layer and the second silicon layer, the shape of the second pattern, the shape of the third etching region, and the wet etching condition or a combination of two or more thereof. A method for manufacturing a cantilever of an atomic force microscope which is easy to use. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second silicon layers
Wherein the crystal orientation of the cantilever is selected from the group consisting of <100>, <110>, and <111> crystal directions. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second silicon layers
Wherein the cantilevers have the same crystal orientation or different crystal orientations with respect to each other. The method of claim 1, wherein the first pattern, the second pattern, the third pattern,
Wherein the resist pattern is formed by a resist pattern by a photolithography process. The method of claim 1, wherein the first upper protective film, the first lower protective film, the second upper protective film,
Wherein at least one of SiN _x , SiO _2, and Si ₃ N ₄ is selected from a single layer or a plurality of layers. The method according to claim 1, wherein the removal of the first upper protective film, the first lower protective film, the second upper protective film, the second lower protective film, and the insulating film is performed by wet etching or dry etching. Method of manufacturing a cantilever of an atomic force microscope. 10. The method of claim 9,
_{BCl 3, SiCl 4, Cl 2} , HBr, SF 6, CF 4, C 4 F 8, CH 4, CHF 3, NF 3, CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), at least one selected from the group consisting of H ₂ and O ₂ And the gas is used as the gas. The method of manufacturing the cantilever of the atomic force microscope easily adjusts the tilt of the probe. The method of claim 1, wherein the removal of the first silicon layer and the second silicon layer is performed by wet etching. The method of any one of claims 4, 9, and 11,
KOH, N (CH ₃ ) ₄ OH, NaOH, NH ₄ OH, H ₂ SO ₄ , HF, HCl, H ₃ PO ₄ , HNO ₃ , CH ₃ COOH, H ₂ O ₂ and H ₂ O The etching solution is used,
Wherein the concentration of the etching solution is in the range of 5 to 80%, or the temperature of the etching solution is in the range of 30 to 150 ° C. 5. A method of manufacturing a cantilever of an atomic force microscope, The method of claim 1, wherein the oxide film formation and removal are performed after step 12 to reduce the size of the tip of the probe. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cantilever support comprises:
And a stepped portion is formed on the upper surface of the cantilever. delete delete delete

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