Improved nanotopography sensing via temperature control of a heated atomic force microscope cantilever

This thesis reports thermal nanotopography sensing using a heated atomic force microscope cantilever with a sensitivity as high as 4.68 mV/nm, which is two orders of magnitude higher than previously published results for heated cantilevers. The sensitivity improvement arises from closed-loop control of cantilever temperature during the topography sensing. The cantilever temperature is controlled by maintaining constant electrical resistance, current, power, or voltage across either the entire electrical circuit or individual components of the circuit. A model that links the cantilever heat flow and temperature-dependent cantilever properties to the circuit behavior in order to predict and then optimize the cantilever topography sensitivity was developed. Topography measurements on a 100 nm tall silicon grating show cantilever sensitivity ranging 0.047 to 4.68 mV/nm, depending on the control scheme. The application of closed loop control yields a topography sensitivity that is 100X increased over previously published work on heated cantilevers.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Somnath, Suhas

Contributors dc:contributor

• King, William P.

• Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
• cantilever
• nanotopography
• temperature control
• sensitivity

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2011 Suhas Somnath

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/24131

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/24131