Fabrication of a GaAs Microwave Probe Used for Atomic Force Microscope

In order to develop a new structure microwave probe, the fabrication of AFM probe on the GaAs wafer was studied. A waveguide was introduced by evaporating Au film on the top and bottom surfaces of the GaAs AFM probe. A tip having 7 μm high, 2.0 aspect ratio was formed. The dimensions of the cantilever are 250×30×15 μm. The open structure of the waveguide at the tip of the probe was obtained by using FIB fabrication. AFM topographies of a grating sample were measured by using the fabricated GaAs microwave probe and commercial Si AFM probe. The fabricated probe was found having similar capability as the commercial one.