Characterization of topography and adhesion of sidewall using an orthogonal cantilever probe

This paper reports a magnetic-drive force-distance curve-based atomic force microscopy using an orthogonal cantilever probe (OCP), which can study the interactive effects between sidewall morphology and adhesion force. The OCP is composed of a horizontal arm and a vertical arm with a protruding tip, in which a ferroferric oxide bead is used to connect them orthogonally together. Based on this unique structure, the designed OCP can detect the interaction force between the sidewall and tip through torsional deformation, thus mapping steep vertical surface. The ferroferric oxide bead is magnetized along the direction perpendicular to the long axis of the horizontal arm, becoming a magnetic bead, in order to provide vibration at off-resonance for the OCP. Relevant theoretical analysis and calibration tasks are introduced at first, and then, two specimens including a micro-electro-mechanical system device with micro-comb structure and a microarray unit are adopted to verify its practicability of the proposed method. Experimental results show that there is a correlation between sidewall adhesion and surface roughness, in addition, these performance parameters can also be meaningful for the micro-operation process.