A multi-probe micro-fabrication apparatus based on the friction-induced fabrication method

Abstract

A novel multi-probe micro-fabrication apparatus was developed based on the friction-induced fabrication method. The main parts of the apparatus include actuating device, loading system, and control system. With a motorized XY linear stage, the maximum fabrication area of 50 mm × 50 mm can be achieved, and the maximum sliding speed of probes can be as high as 10 mm/s. Through locating steel micro balls into indents array, the preparation of multi-probe array can be realized by a simple and low-cost way. The cantilever was designed as a structure of deformable parallelogram with two beams, by which the fabrication force can be precisely controlled. Combining the friction-induced scanning with selective etching in KOH solution, various micro-patterns were fabricated on Si(100) surface without any masks or exposure. As a low-cost and high efficiency fabrication device, the multi-probe micro-fabrication apparatus may encourage the development of friction-induced fabrication method and shed new light on the texture engineering.

Keywords

friction-induced fabrication / silicon / surface texture / friction / multi-probe

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Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg