In-Plane SPM Tips for Diverse Wafer Designs

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for manufacturing and handling micro-objects, such as scanning probe microscopy (SPM) tips, face challenges in achieving precise spatial orientation and efficient use of high-performance materials due to limitations in cantilever and tip production, leading to costly and restrictive use of nanotechnologies in research and industry.

Innovation Solution

A method is developed to fabricate multiple unique SPM tips and tools on a single wafer using robust materials like diamond and silicon nitride, allowing for precise alignment and identification through etched identifiers, enabling diverse functions and complex structures that expand the capabilities of SPM and nanomachining techniques.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If multiple unique SPM tips and tools are fabricated on a single wafer using robust materials like diamond and silicon nitride, then manufacturing precision and material efficiency are improved, but device complexity and production difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvespatial orientation precisionVSAvoidwafer fabrication complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The wafer is divided into multiple discrete regions, each containing different tip geometries and configurations. This segmentation allows each tip type to be independently designed and fabricated with precise spatial orientation while maintaining overall wafer-level manufacturing efficiency. The segmentation principle resolves the contradiction by enabling complex diverse designs without compromising individual tip precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the wafer are assigned different material properties, geometries, and orientations tailored to specific application requirements. This local quality approach allows robust materials like diamond to be used where maximum durability is needed, while other regions use different configurations optimized for their specific functions, thereby achieving high manufacturing precision across diverse tip types without requiring uniform complex fabrication processes across the entire wafer.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Productivity

If diverse tip geometries and configurations are produced on one wafer, then productivity and cost-effectiveness improve, but manufacturing precision and alignment accuracy may deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetip production efficiencyVSAvoidalignment accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The wafer fabrication process is designed to produce multiple tip types with different geometries and configurations simultaneously, making the single wafer serve multiple functions. This multi-functionality approach enables high productivity by producing diverse tips in one manufacturing run, while standardized mounting interfaces and alignment features ensure that precision and alignment accuracy are maintained across all tip types despite their diversity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

Alignment features and identification markers are pre-formed on the wafer during the fabrication process before the tips are mounted. This preliminary action ensures that when tips are later removed and mounted on individual holders, their spatial orientation and alignment can be quickly and accurately restored, thereby maintaining manufacturing precision while enabling high-volume diverse tip production.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If specialized miniature tools with specific spatial orientations are manufactured, then adaptability to different applications improves, but ease of manufacture and production simplicity worsen

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveapplication-specific adaptabilityVSAvoidproduction simplicity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The fabrication process utilizes variable parameters such as etch depth, layer thickness, and pattern dimensions to create tips with different geometries and orientations from the same base wafer structure. By changing these parameters during fabrication, the process can produce highly adaptable specialized tools for different applications without requiring completely different manufacturing procedures, thereby maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving high versatility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS10042263B1In-plane scanning probe microscopy tips and tools for wafers and substrates with diverse designs on one wafer or substrate

Publication Date: 2018.08.07 KLEY VICTOR B

AI summary

Cantilevers, SPM tips and nanomachining tools are created in the plane of wafers to obtain new and high performance parts. The method produces more parts for any given wafer, then conventional methods and allows every part on any given wafer to be different from any other, permitting great freedom in new SPM and nanomachining techniques and product development.