An integrated optical waveguide micro‐cantilever system for chip‐based AFM

An optical waveguide cantilever system with a tip is introduced as the displacement detection system of chip‐based atomic force microscopy (AFM) system. A chip‐based AFM on optical waveguide is demonstrated with sensitivity of up to 4.0 × 10–2 nm–1, which is mainly constructed by a 210 nm thick optical waveguide cantilever with a nano‐tip. The nano‐tip is a height of 1.2 μm and diameter of 140 nm. This integrated on‐chip system provides a displacement range of approximately ±0.4 μm, which makes it possible for the device to be used for AFM imaging and pays the way for further performance improvement. Brief An integrated AFM based on optical waveguide technology is introduced for the miniaturisation of AFM. An optical waveguide cantilever system with a tip is designed to integrate the receiver and transmitter on a single chip. An analysis on the chip‐AFM is presented. The research demonstrates that an integrated AFM based on optical waveguide technology can work well.