Characteristics Analysis for Nanosoldering with Atomic Force Microscope

Abstract

Field-emission deposition of atomic force microscope (AFM) can be used to fabricate nanopads, and therefore has potential applications in soldering nanodevices. However, the soldering effects are hard to verify because the soldering pads are of nanoscale. This paper studied the electrical, thermal and mechanical characteristics of the deposited nanopads, in order to testify the soldering effects. For this purpose, first, a carbon nanotube field effect transistor (CNTFET) was soldered to see whether the conductivity of the transistor was improved. Next, the thermal performance of the nanopads were observed by heating them in an oven. Last, the nanopads were mechanically pushed by an AFM probe to test the physical connection between the nanopads and the substrate. Experimental results showed that the nanosoldering dramatically reduced the contact resistance of the transistor. Moreover, the nanopads could withstand high temperature and mechanical push. Consequently, field-emission deposition of the AFM promised a bright future in nanosoldering.