Platinum sputtered CMOS-MEMS electrothermal probes with piezoresistive force sensing

Abstract

We report tip platform platinum sputtering and piezoresistive force sensing employed in CMOS-MEMS electrothermal probes. Pt sputtering is developed to achieve small and reliable electrical contact resistance. Piezoresistive sensors are used to track the force applied on the tips to detect the mechanical contact of the probe and the substrate and to aid in tip registration to the patterned substrates.