University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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

Somnath, Suhas

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Somnath_Suhas.pdf

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

Description

Title
Improved nanotopography sensing via temperature control of a heated atomic force microscope cantilever
Author(s)
Somnath, Suhas
Issue Date
2011-05-25T14:51:26Z
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
King, William P.
Department of Study
Mechanical Sci & Engineering
Discipline
Mechanical Engineering
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Date of Ingest
2011-05-25T14:51:26Z
Keyword(s)
  • Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
  • cantilever
  • nanotopography
  • temperature control
  • sensitivity
Abstract
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.
Graduation Semester
2011-05
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/24131
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2011 Suhas Somnath

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