3-Dimensional piezodriven microcantilever for scanning force microscope

A new type piezoelectric microcantilever which can be actuated in three orthogonal directions and can detect its deflection is proposed for the application for scanning force microscopy. A "T-shaped" cantilever with one piezoelectric layer is designed. Calculations show that the cantilever has a scanning area larger than 1x1 μm and vertical resolution smaller than 1 nm. The microfabrication process including the deposition of 3-μm-thick PZT film by sol-gel method is developed, and a test device is successfully fabricated.