Hisham Khalid Al Falih
Dhahran Ahliyya School, Dammam, Eastern, SAUDI ARABIA
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) are vital technological breakthroughs in the fields of nanolithography and surface science. Both microscopes rely on delicate, sharp-tipped probes with radii of curvature (RoC)
The purpose of this project is to develop a facile process to fabricate functional tungsten probes and to compare their characteristics when produced by the single-step and two-step dynamic electrochemical etching methods. The goal is to introduce a simplistic method that would decrease the cost of the probes while maintaining high standards in probe specifications.
Cuurently, the most efficient method to produce probes is Dynamic Electrochemical Etching. In this project, an enhanced Dynamic Electrochemical Etching process has been introduced, incorporating a new step in the process to ease the use of thick (radius >125um) wires.
An RoC of 25nm or less was routinely fabricated when the novel Two-Step Electrochemical Etching (TEE) process with an etching wire radius of
This technological advancement can further facilitate and accelerate the study of the electric properties of different materials, the fabrication of nano-structures at the atomic level, and the study of living cells, along with other applications. Awards won at the 2012 ISEF Third Award of $1,000 - ENG: Materials and Bioengineering - Presented by Intel