Mapping interactions in hybrid systems with active scanning probes

Corey Mason with Jesse Berezovsky

Mapping interactions in hybrid systems with active scanning probes

[paper]

Nanosystems have large potential in many future applications, but constructing these systems can be difficult or imprecise. In order to circumvent the difficulties and imprecision, we plan to fabricate the components needed for the nanosystem separately: one on a cantilever and the other on a fixed substrate. Then the cantilever can be precisely positioned using a scanning probe system to create the nanosystem. The purpose of this project will be to develop a process for fabricating the various cantilevers needed for the scanning probe system. Using this process, the cantilevers will be fabricated around an existing optical or magnetic device. Such a process will need to result in cantilever tips not too long or stiff with dimensions of approximately 500 μm long, 50 μm wide, and 5 μm thick. The finished cantilevers will then be fixed to a scanning probe microscope and used in future research to map interactions between electrons in quantum dots and active probes.