Methods of fabricating integrated, aligned tunneling tip pairs
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A submicron tip structure, comprisinga substrate;
- support means spaced above said substrate; and
a pair of self-aligned, opposed sensing tips, each tip having an end portion with at least one dimension in the nanometer size range, one of said pair of tips being integral with said support means and the other being integral with said substrate, said tips being closely spaced to define a gap therebetween.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Self-aligned, opposed, nanometer dimension tips are fabricated in pairs, one of each pair being located on a movable, single crystal beam, with the beam being movable in three dimensions with respect to a substrate carrying the other tip of a pair. Motion of one tip with respect to the other is controlled or sensed by transducers formed on the supporting beams. Spring means in each beam allow axial motion of the beam. The tips and beams are fabricated from single crystal silicon substrate, and the tips may be electrically isolated from the substrate by fabricating insulating segments in the beam structure.
-
Citations
69 Claims
-
1. A submicron tip structure, comprising
a substrate; -
support means spaced above said substrate; and a pair of self-aligned, opposed sensing tips, each tip having an end portion with at least one dimension in the nanometer size range, one of said pair of tips being integral with said support means and the other being integral with said substrate, said tips being closely spaced to define a gap therebetween. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
-
-
2. The device of claim wherein said tips are generally conical, and taper inwardly to a minimum diameter in said nanometer size range.
-
5. The device of claim further including means supplying electrical current to at least one of said tips.
-
45. A submicron tip structure, comprising an electrically conductive substrate;
-
electrically conductive tip support means spaced above said substrate, said support tip means and said substrate being fabricated from the same material; a pair of opposed, aligned nanometer-scale tip means formed integrally with said support means and said substrate; scanning tip means on said support means; means on said substrate defining an aperture in alignment with and adjacent to said scanning tip means; and means supplying electrical current to at least said scanning tip means, the current flow through said scanning tip being responsive to characteristics of material adjacent to said aperture but on the side of the aperture opposite to the location of said tip. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
-
-
51. A method for forming integrated opposed, self-aligned tips for electron device structures, comprising:
-
patterning a silicon substrate to define an upstanding silicon island; masking and oxidizing said island to isolate at least a part of said silicon substrate, the oxidizing step undercutting said part of said island and oxidizing through the thickness of said island to form opposed upper and lower tips at the interface point between said island and said substrate which provides the last contact therebetween during said oxidation; and releasing said undercut part of said island to allow relative motion between said upper and lower tips. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
-
-
65. A method for forming integrated opposed, horizontally self-aligned tips for electron device structures, comprising:
-
patterning a silicon substrate to define an upstanding, elongated silicon island; masking said island to form in said silicon island a plurality of side-by-side recesses and intermediate segments on an upper surface thereof; oxidizing said island to separate said island from said substrate and to separate adjacent island segments, the separation of said segments by oxidation producing self-aligned horizontally opposed wedge-shaped tips.
-
-
66. A submicron tip structure, comprising:
-
a substrate; a plurality of axially aligned supports spaced above said substrate, said supports being isolated from said substrate and at least one support being movable with respect to a second support; at least one pair of opposed, self-aligned tips between adjacent supports and spaced by a gap, said tips tapering inwardly to a minimum dimension in the nanometer, range. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69)
-
Specification