Wafer scale production of carbon nanotube scanning probe tips for atomic force microscopy

A methodology is developed to enable wafer scale fabrication of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) tips for atomic force microscopy. Catalyst selectively placed onto 375 prefabricated Si tips on a wafer is made possible by a simple patterning technique. Chemical vapor deposition on the wafer scale leads to the growth of SWNTs protruding from more than 90% of the Si tips. This represents an important step towards the scale up of nanotube probe tips for advanced nanoscale imaging of solid-state and soft biological systems and for scanning probe lithography.