Nu Nano Ltd Public Funding

Atomic force microscopy (AFM), is a versatile metrology technique capable of imaging surfaces on the nanometre scale, has widespread use in the semiconductor industry, academic research institutions and, increasingly, in life sciences and biomedical sectors. The critical part of an atomic force microscope is a microfabricated silicon sensor (the probe), akin to a record player cantilever and stylus. These probes are consumables requiring regular replacement as they wear out during use. This project aims to develop NuNano's first Silicon Nitride (SiN) AFM probes, to enable us to significantly expand our addressable market. To create softer, more sensitive AFM probes, only a very thin layer (e.g. 500nm) of silicon nitride is required, making the probes very fragile. Significant design and process hurdles need to be overcome in order to fabricate silicon nitride probes reliably and bring them to market.

no public description

Market launch for novel AFM Probe Manufacturing Process

Accelerometers, gyroscopes and microphones are just some of the everyday applications of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) that are now ubiquitous components in consumer electronic devices. As manufacturers of smart phones and tablets endeavour to shrink their devices ever further, so the wasted space separating components in these devices becomes ever more inhibiting, both in terms of physical size and cost. Separating the manufacturing processes of the MEMS component and the host chip can enable massive space and cost savings to be realised, but only if the process designed to subsequently combine the two is low-cost and high-throughput. NuNano is developing a process of this nature which is capable of addressing 400 MEMS components simultaneously and will demonstrate this by manufacturing probes for atomic force microscopy (AFM). These probes, made from silicon, consist of a cantilever and tip, much akin to a record player cantilever and stylus, but the rest of the silicon area is only used for handling. By separating the fabrication of the high-precision functional part of the probe and the bulk chip material, a much greater density of devices per wafer will be realised.

Awaiting Public Project Summary

Accelerometers, gyroscopes and microphones are just some of the everyday applications of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) that are now ubiquitous components in consumer electronic devices. As manufacturers of smart phones and tablets endeavour to shrink their devices ever further, so the wasted space between components in these devices becomes ever more inhibiting, both in terms of physical size and cost. Separating the manufacturing processes of the MEMS component and the host chip can enable massive space and cost savings to be realised, but only if the process designed to subsequently combine the two is low-cost and high-throughput. Nu Nano is developing a process of this nature which is capable of addressing 400 MEMS components simultaneously and targeting a 90% reduction in manufacturing costs. Nu Nano will demonstrate this by manufacturing probes for atomic force microscopy (AFM). These probes, made from silicon, consist of a cantilever and tip, much akin to a record player cantilever and stylus, but the rest of the silicon area is only used for handling. By separating the fabrication of the complex functional part of the probe and the bulk chip material, this massive cost saving will be realised