Provided is a composite metal-wide-bandgap semiconductor tip for scanning tunneling microscopy and/or scanning, tunneling lithography, a method of forming, and a method for using the composite metal-wide-bandgap semiconductor tip.

A method of manufacturing a MEMS device comprising a main body and a protrusion. To provide a generic method of manufacturing a protrusion with reduced vulnerability, the method includes creating a recess in a wafer substrate, said recess having an upper recess section and a lower recess section. The upper recess section is created using anisotropic etching and the lower recess section is formed using corner lithography followed by directional etching. Finally, a filler material is introduced in the recess and at least part of the wafer substrate material is removed so as to expose the filler material introduced in the recess. Additionally, the method allows for the batch-wise production of protrusions having oblique ends.

A method of manufacturing a MEMS device comprising a main body and a protrusion. To provide a generic method of manufacturing a protrusion with reduced vulnerability, the method includes creating a recess in a wafer substrate, said recess having an upper recess section and a lower recess section. The upper recess section is created using anisotropic etching and the lower recess section is formed using corner lithography followed by directional etching. Finally, a filler material is introduced in the recess and at least part of the wafer substrate material is removed so as to expose the filler material introduced in the recess. Additionally, the method allows for the batch-wise production of protrusions having oblique ends.

A near-field scanning probe includes: a measurement probe that relatively scans a test sample; an excitation light irradiation system; a near-field light generation system that generates near-field light in a region including the measurement probe in response to irradiation with excitation light from the excitation light irradiation system; and a scattered light detection system that detects Rayleigh scattering and Ramen scattered light of the near-field light from the sample, generated between the measurement probe and the sample, and the near-field scanning probe is characterized in that the near-field light generation system includes a cantilever with a chip coated with a noble metal, and a tip of the chip is provided with a thin wire group including a plurality of carbon nanowires with a noble metal provided at ends thereof.

A near-field scanning probe includes: a measurement probe that relatively scans a test sample; an excitation light irradiation system; a near-field light generation system that generates near-field light in a region including the measurement probe in response to irradiation with excitation light from the excitation light irradiation system; and a scattered light detection system that detects Rayleigh scattering and Ramen scattered light of the near-field light from the sample, generated between the measurement probe and the sample, and the near-field scanning probe is characterized in that the near-field light generation system includes a cantilever with a chip coated with a noble metal, and a tip of the chip is provided with a thin wire group including a plurality of carbon nanowires with a noble metal provided at ends thereof.

Nanowires that may be utilized in microscopy, for example atomic force microscopy (AFM), as part of an AFM probe, as well as for other uses, are disclosed. The nanowires may be formed from a Group III nitride such as an epitaxial layer that may be or include gallium nitride, indium nitride, aluminum nitride, and an alloy of these materials. During use of the AFM probe to measure a topography of a test sample surface, the nanowire can activated and caused to lase and emit a light, thereby illuminating the surface with the light. In an implementation, the light can be collected by the AFM probe itself, for example through an optical fiber to which the nanowire is attached.

Nanowires that may be utilized in microscopy, for example atomic force microscopy (AFM), as part of an AFM probe, as well as for other uses, are disclosed. The nanowires may be formed from a Group III nitride such as an epitaxial layer that may be or include gallium nitride, indium nitride, aluminum nitride, and an alloy of these materials. During use of the AFM probe to measure a topography of a test sample surface, the nanowire can activated and caused to lase and emit a light, thereby illuminating the surface with the light. In an implementation, the light can be collected by the AFM probe itself, for example through an optical fiber to which the nanowire is attached.

Provided is a conical nano-carbon material functionalized needle tip, formed by assembling a nano-carbon material with a material of a needle tip by means of a covalent bond; and the material of the needle tip is a metal selected from one or more of tungsten, iron, cobalt, nickel and titanium. Further provided is a method for preparing the conical nano-carbon material functionalized needle tip. The conical nano-material functionalized needle tip has an outstanding interface formed by metal-carbide covalent bonds, and the orientation of the conical nano-material is matched with the axial direction of the metal needle tip (illustrated in FIG. 6). The proposed preparation method affords a robust interface and avoids the potential pollution to the nano-material caused during the deposition of fixing materials, such as carbon or platinum or the like, in other preparation methods.

Provided is a conical nano-carbon material functionalized needle tip, formed by assembling a nano-carbon material with a material of a needle tip by means of a covalent bond; and the material of the needle tip is a metal selected from one or more of tungsten, iron, cobalt, nickel and titanium. Further provided is a method for preparing the conical nano-carbon material functionalized needle tip. The conical nano-material functionalized needle tip has an outstanding interface formed by metal-carbide covalent bonds, and the orientation of the conical nano-material is matched with the axial direction of the metal needle tip (illustrated in FIG. 6). The proposed preparation method affords a robust interface and avoids the potential pollution to the nano-material caused during the deposition of fixing materials, such as carbon or platinum or the like, in other preparation methods.

Disclosed is a method for preparing nanoscale electrodes comprised of electrochemically grown noble metal nanowires, and use of the same for the detection of extremely small concentrations of molecules. Such nanoscale electrodes provide target molecule release information from submicron areas on the cell surface, significantly increasing the spatial resolution of the target molecule mapping of a cell surface to enable localization of target molecules on the cell surface, which can be critical for the detection of certain cells with different properties in a given group of cells, such as circulating tumor cells.