Development of Elemental Technologies for the Fabrication of Cantilevers with Titanium Tips

Metal tip technology with microscopic tips is expected to be applied to the measurement of surface electrical properties and electrochemical processing. Silicon-based tips have been widely used due to the well-established microfabrication techniques and high fabrication precision, but they have poor shock durability. Titanium has superior mechanical strength and corrosion resistance, but its micro-fabrication is difficult due to its high strength and oxide film formation. In this study, fabrication techniques for titanium micro cantilevers with tip structures were developed using electrolytic etching and a thick resist protection process. Finally, micro cantilevers with titanium tip structures having root diameters of 80 µm and 90 µm were fabricated, and the tip curvature radius ranged from approximately 1.39 to 3.02 µm.