Loading...
Evaluation of thermal evaporation conditions used in coating aluminum on near-field fiber-optic probes
Hollars, Christopher W. Dunn, Robert C.
Hollars, Christopher W.
Dunn, Robert C.
Citations
Altmetric:
Abstract
The effects that the thermal evaporation conditions have on the roughness of aluminum-coated near-field fiber-optic probes were investigated using the high-resolution capabilities of atomic force microscopy. The coating conditions studied include the effects of background gas composition, base vacuum pressure, and aluminum evaporation rate. The effects of aging on the aluminum-coated tips were also evaluated. The results from topography measurements of the resulting aluminumfilm indicated that the most dramatic improvements in the tip coatings can be achieved using high aluminum evaporation rates at base vacuum pressures below 10−5 Torr. These results agree with other studies on thin aluminumfilms and reflect a decrease in oxide formation. For demanding applications of near-field microscopy requiring maximal resolution, the results presented here indicate that it may also be necessary to reduce oxygen and/or water from the vacuum chamber prior to coating.
Description
This is the published version, also available here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1148836.
Date
1998-01-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Institute of Physics
Collections
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Aluminium, Thin films, Atomic force microscopy, High pressure, Near-field scanning optical microscopy
Citation
Hollars, Christoper W. & Dunn, Robert C. "Evaluation of thermal evaporation conditions used in coating aluminum on near-field fiber-optic probes." Rev. Sci. Instrum. 69, 1747 (1998). http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1148836.