Integration of single-walled carbon nanotube bundle on cantilever by dielectrophoresis

We report on the assembly process for single-walled carbon nanotubes (SW-CNTs) bundle on the tip of cantilever for atomic force microscopy (AFM) by dielectrophoresis (DEP). In DEP process, an ac electric field (20 V
_p-p
, 5 MHz) was applied between a tungsten probe and the cantilever tip to form the SW-CNTs bundle bridge. We can monitor the SW-CNTs bridging process in real time under an optical microscope and successfully assembled SW-CNTs bundle with a diameter of approximately 100 nm on the tip. To compare the performance of our fablicated CNT cantilever with conventional cantilevers, we scanned a porous aluminum surface using AFM. From AFM measurements, we confirmed that our cantilever by DEP allowed us to obtain high resolution images similarly to conventional cantilevers with strong mechanical strength and good stability of scanning.