We report on the application as well as microfabrication process of batch-fabricated optical near-field sensors using cantilevered scanning force microscopy tips. The process includes implementation of a coaxial conductive geometry into a silicon sensor tip, along with electrical connections on the cantilever and chip body. The coaxial guide structure is used as electric lead to a sub-micron Schottky photodetector at the end of the tip, formed at the junction of the protruding silicon core and a recessed aluminum coating. The I-V curves of these sensors are consistent with numerical studies for such constricted geometries. Optical near-field data gathered by this sensor in topography-following mode is presented.

Date Published: 5 December 2001
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 4456, Controlling and Using Light in Nanometric Domains, (5 December 2001); doi: 10.1117/12.449530

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4456:
Controlling and Using Light in Nanometric Domains
Aaron Lewis; H. Kumar Wickramasinghe; Katharina H.B. Al-Shamery, Editor(s)