The reproducible micromachining of hollow metal tips on Si cantilevers and their applicability to scanning probe microscopy techniques are described. Provided with apertures below 130 nm and hollow pyramidal tips proved to be highly suited probes for scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM). First results of combined SFM/SNOM measurements together with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photographs of the new sensors are presented. The SNOM images show a resolution of about 100 nm demonstrating the usefulness of these probes.

A process for the fabrication of diamond cantilevers integrated on a silicon wafer is presented. At one end the cantilevers possess a tip with a small radius of curvature thus allowing their use in scanning probe microscopy applications. The influence of various procedures to enhance diamond nucleation of the properties of the tips is investigated. Ultrasonic pretreatment with 1 μm diamond paste and subsequent hot-filament chemical-vapor deposition turned out to yield the best results. Micro-Raman measurements show the tips to consist of stress-free diamond up to their very apex.