Subnanomachining by Ultrasonic-Vibration-Assisted Atomic Force Microscopy

Abstract

Abstract-The ultrasonic vibration (UV)-assisted method, as an innovative nanomachining process, has competitive advantages compared to traditional atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanomachining methods. However, the mechanism of nanomachining by ultrasonic-assisted AFM is still unclear. Furthermore, the mathematical control model for the nanomachining process is still lacking. Therefore, the UV-assisted nanomachining process is difficult to control on the nanometer-thick film, and no additional work has been reported at this time. In this paper, the mechanisms of ultrasonic-assisted AFM subnanomachining have been analyzed by using a point-mass model for the dynamic AFM cantilever, and a mathematical model of ultrasonic subnanomachining has been established on the basis of these mechanisms. The subnanomachining experiments were carried out on a 5-nm-thick polystyrene thin film using AFM under sample UV conditions. The experimental results have shown that the amplitude of sample UV can regulate the subnanomachining depth. Finally, the simulation results from the mathematical model and the experimental results have been compared in this study.Index Terms-Atomic force microscopy (AFM), dynamic cantilever model, subnanomachining, ultrasonic-assisted machining.

The co-design of interface sensing and tailoring of ultra-thin film with ultrasonic vibration-assisted AFM system

“…It is well known that removing materials from the sample surface is an energyconsuming process. For USV-assisted AFM mechanical machining processes, the absorbed energy is mainly provided by the kinetic energy of the sample vibration generated by the USV transducer [32]. The energy dissipation, which is the energy consumption in the machining process, affects the cantilever vibrational state, resulting in a phase lag.…”

“…Similar to macro USV-assisted machining methods, the nanoscale methods use high-frequency relative motion between the tip and sample surface to overcome the shortcomings of conventional AFM methods [25] and demonstrate remarkably advantageous cutting or machining of ultra-thin films. Recent studies show that utilizing the USV-assisted AFM method avoids the formation of bumps when scratching on polystyrene (PS) thin films [26], reduces the friction force and tip wear to a certain extent [27][28][29], and the improves the controllability and cutting effect when machining on polymethyl-methacrylate thin films [30][31][32]. The USV-assisted AFM method overcomes most practical problems that affect conventional AFM methods.…”

A design of phase-closed-loop nanomachining control based ultrasonic vibration-assisted AFM

“…Machining depth sensing theory based phase detecting model AFM machining process is removing the materials from the sample surface by using the nano-tip, and it is an energy consuming process. For ultrasonic-vibration-assisted AFM machining method, the absorbed energy mainly comes from the kinetic energy of sample vibration generated by USV transducer [12]. Therefore, the ultrasonic vibration source provides energy for both machining process and cantilever vibration.…”

“…Ultrasonic vibration (USV)-assisted AFM nanomachining method has emerged and been applied in scientific research filed with its outstanding advantage on fabricating prototype. Recent studies show that the USV-assisted AFM machining method can reduce severe tip wear, improve machining performance and increase the controllability when machining ultra-thin films of polymer [11][12][13][14]. However, the open-loop control of machining depth is still the biggest limitation rising above for machining the patterns on the resists of lithography.…”

Tip-Based Nanomachining on Thin Films: A Mini Review

“…To date, nanodots/pits, nanogrooves/lines, and even three-dimensional (3D) complex structures have been achieved on these films by using the TBN method. Various types of nanomachining methods based on tips involving static scratch [33][34][35], DPL [9,13,14,36,37], and vibration-assisted approach [22,[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46], especially the ultrasonic vibration-assisted (UV-assisted) method, have been used to machine nanopatterns on polymer films (Table 1). Heated tips have been found to offer important advantages in machining polymer film materials.…”