A scanning microscopy probe based on three-dimensionally shaped carbon nanotube (CNT) forests and its application to atomic-force microscopy (AFM) are reported. Micro-scale CNT forests directly grown on silicon cantilevers are patterned into cone shapes with the tips of a few individual nanotubes. The CNT-forest-based probes provide significantly higher mechanical stability/robustness than the common single-CNT probes. AFM imaging using the fabricated probes reveals their imaging ability comparable to that of commercial probes. The patterning process also improves the uniformity of the CNT forests grown on each cantilever. The results suggest a promising future for CNT scanning probes and their production approach.

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