Abstract
This study designed and fabricated a novel microscopy probe for the direct measurement of the electrostatic field (mainly Coulombic force) of electrical samples. The probe is based in the principle of using an insulating cantilever for the attachment of a charged nanoparticle, such that the probe acts as a point charge applicable in the detection of electrostatic force. We attached a single 210 nm Teflon nanoparticle (sTNP) to the vertex of a silicon nitride (Si3N4) atomic force microscope (AFM) tip and applied charge via contact electrification. We then verified the characteristics of the charged sTNP tip, such as charge duration and consistency, and fabricated an N2 drying system to facilitate the measurement of electrostatic field. To demonstrate the efficacy of electrostatic force detection, we used the charged sTNP tip to measure the electrostatic field adjacent to a parallel plate condenser using 30 nm gold /20 nm Titanium as electrodes. The proposed technique provides resolution of 250 nm / 100 nm along the X / Z-axes and a measured minimum electrostatic force accurate to within 50 pN.