Effects of Scratching Parameters on Fabrication of Polymer Nanostructures in Atomic Force Microscope Tapping Mode

The nano scratching with an oscillating Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) tip in tapping mode is called as the dynamic ploughing. The tip is vibrated in a high frequency and scratches the surface which is similar to the conventional vibration-assistant machining process. In the present study, the dynamic ploughing technique is utilized to scratch PolymethylMethacrylate (PMMA) polymer surfaces forming nanostructures with a commercial AFM system and two kinds of cantilevers. Effects of scratching parameters of the dynamic ploughing including scratching velocity, driving amplitude, pitch and the cantilever's elastic constant on the machined results are studied in detail. Finally nano ring structures with different radius are achieved successfully.Video abstract To view the video inline, enable JavaScript on your browser. However, you can download and view the video by clicking on the icon belowHelp with MP4 filesOptionsDownload video (1713 K)