Veeco Dimension 3100, Manual

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Cantilever Preparation
Silicon Cantilever Substrates
88 Dimension 3100 Manual Rev. D
6.1 Silicon Cantilever Substrates
6.1.1 Wafer Tool Kit
A wafer tool kit for working with silicon cantilever substrates is included with the Dimension 3100
SPM system. The kit contains the following:
• Wafer tweezers
• Flat, substrate tweezers
• Regular tweezers
• Curved, sharp-pointed tweezers
• Flat, L-shaped tweezers
6.1.2 Cantilever Preparation
To prepare the cantilever for imaging:.
1. View the wafer with an optical microscope to determine the orientation of the cantilever
substrates and to inspect the cantilevers themselves.
Note: A 10-70X stereo microscope is useful for this task. The cantilevers are tip-side-
up when viewed in the wafer holder.
2. Disconnect the substrate from the bulk of the wafer by pressing down gently on the non-
cantilever end of the substrate or using sharp-pointed tweezers to carefully break the two
substrate supporting arms connecting the substrate to the silicon wafer frame (see
Figure
6.1a ).
Note: The supporting arms connecting the substrate to the bulk of the wafer shatter
when pressure is applied. It may be convenient to break several substrates from
the wafer at one time. Extras may be safely stored in a specially prepared petri
dish.
3. At the bottom of the petri dish, place X4-grade, GEL-PAK adhesive strips.
4. Place the substrates, tips facing up, on the adhesive to permit easy removal of the substrates
when needed.
CAUTION: The cantilevers are stored tip-side-up, and the silicon is very
brittle. The cantilever will break off of the substrate if contacted.