Room-temperature chemical vapor deposition and mass detection on a heated atomic force microscope cantilever

Abstract

This letter reports the localized room-temperature chemical vapor deposition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) onto an atomic force microscope cantilever having an integrated heater, using the cantilever self-heating to provide temperatures required for CNT growth. Precise temperature calibration of the cantilever was possible and the CNTs were synthesized at a cantilever heater temperature of 800 °C in reactive gases at room temperature. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed the CNTs were vertically aligned and highly localized to only the heater area of the cantilever. The cantilever mechanical resonance decreased from 119.10 kHz to 118.23 kHz upon CNT growth, and then returned to 119.09 kHz following cantilever cleaning, indicating a CNT mass of 1.4×10 ⁻¹⁴ kg. This technique for highly local growth and measurement of deposited CNTs creates new opportunities for interfacing nanomaterials with microstructures.