Force sensing devices with multiple filled and/or empty channels and other attributes

[0002] This invention is a general method for forming force sensing devices with multiple isolated channels in which two or more materials (solid, liquid or gas) can be isolated one from another. These devices have various attributes that result from this technology that can produce such devices that are either straight or cantilevered. The resulting structures, either cantilevered or uncantilevered, can be tapered to a small tip and should allow for the ability to sense surface forces while using one or multiple channels of the structure for another function.

[0003] If there was a general method that could allow for the generation of multiple channel force sensing devices with channels, that could be filled with a solid liquid or gas or left empty or both, this would have significant impact in numerous areas of science and technology. They could form probes that could have multiple attributes such as chemical sensors in one channel with gas in another channel, micro vacuum devices with single channels that could suck up materials and air in a second channel to release such materials, unique nanometric thermocouples, micro voltage, micro capacitance, micro inductive, micromagnetic devices depending on electrical isolation or contact at the tip of electrically conducting materials, microlight detectors if the conductors in the channels are covered with photodetecting materials, microlight sources if the channels of conducting material are coated with electroluminescent materials, multiple channel fountain pens, multiple channel tips for multiple electrochemical and/or optical measurements, micro heating elements, stable micro devices for annealing, soldering, cutting, etc., Peltier microcooling devices, microdynamic cavitation bubble forming devices, generating devices with two isolated electrodes with appropriate electrical inputs, etc. In the past, some of these applications were attempted with single channel devices with less than successful results. For example, microthermocouples with force sensing capabilities have been previously described using a tip that is produced with silicon technology that is then combined with coating procedures to effect a point thermocouple or thermoresistor at the tip of a cantileveied structure. Nonetheless, these coating techniques are very susceptible to the destruction of the point contact at the tip when such tips are employed in contact with a sample surface. The newly invented techniques described in this patent avoid such problems and also allow the production of new structures that were not permitted by such previous technology [C. Prater and T. B. Albrecht, Universal Microfabricated Probe for Scanning Probe Microscopes, U.S. Pat. No. 5,166,520] that was based on some sort of combination of etching or coating rather than the forming procedures used and possible in this invention.

[0004] There has been no approach that has been used in the past that would allow the production of the structures described in this patent. Thus, both in terms of the methodology that is described and the type of structures and the devices that can be obtained this is a significant invention over the state of prior art.

[0005] The invention is a method to produce a type of probe based on multiple channels of isolated materials that can, if so desired, be cantilevered. The structures and the variety of applications that they provide are a result of the ability of these devices to sense surface forces and thus permit the control of these probes at or above specified surfaces in order to accomplish specific applications.

[0006] The foregoing, and additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those of skill in the art from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a multiple channel tapered structure that is part of this invention;

[0008] FIG. 2 illustrates a structure similar to FIG. 1 which is cantilevered;

[0009] FIG. 3 illustrates another example of a multichannel structure as described herein; and

[0010] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a structure produced by the glass forming technology approach described herein.

[0011] The invention is a general method and the resulting devices in which multiple channels (1.1 and 1.2) in FIG. 1 can be formed into a tapered (illustrated at 1.3) or untapered structure (1.4) such that two or more materials (solid, liquid or gas) of either the same or different chemical composition are isolated from one another by a solid material, or till, (1.5) in the tip of the structure. At this tip the two materials can either be connected or left unconnected, depending on the application that is desired. Such structures can have force constants both as straight or cantilevered devices (see FIG. 2 with channels 2.1 and 2.2 in a cantilevered, tapered structure 2.3) that allow for force sensing applications. In addition to the two channel devices shown in FIG. 1, multiple channels can also be produced that mix many of the attributes that are described above. An example of such a tapered structure (3.0) is shown in FIG. 3, where three multiple channels are illustrated at 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 in a straight (non-cantilevered) emulation. Nonetheless, this does not limit these structures to three channels and such structures can be made with more than three channels. Furthermore, the three channel structures and structures with additional channels can be cantilevered as shown in FIG. 2.

[0012] As only one example of such a force sensing multiple device structure, we have produced, using theta glass capillaries, a two-wire cantilevered structure that can be used for thermal resistance when the two isolated materials are metal and of the same composition, and can be used as a thermocouple or a Peltier cooler when the two materials are of different metallic composition. This was accomplished using glass forming technology in which a multiple channel glass capillary such as that illustrated in FIG. 2, with a metal wire (2.4 and 2.5) in each channel (2.1 and 2.2, respectively) is pulled under heating, tension and cooling that is microprocessor controlled. The two channels together with two metal wires in the channels produce a structure that has two tapered wires isolated by glass that can be either left straight or can be cantilevered.

[0013] In order to produce such a structure, it is important to choose the condition of tapering such that when the tapering is accomplished by heating, combinations of symmetry and asymmetry of the structures are chosen in order to provide the best results for the specific device that is going to be produced. An example of such a tapered multiple wire structure (4.1) is shown in FIG. 4. In this structure the size of the tip is 100 nanometers. However, such structures can be made from many tens of millimeters to single nanometers and can also be coated with metallic material (2.6 in FIG. 2) on the outside surface of the multiple channels. Furthermore, for specific applications, such as a micro vacuum devices which have not been produced previously, it is possible to use the same technology to produce a single channel vacuum device using a capillary in which there is only one channel. Finally, all such devices can be produced with a mirror deposited on the tip in order to allow for specific techniques of force sensing.

[0014] The above does not limit the method of producing such structures since procedures based on micro electro mechanical (MEMs) techniques could also be applied to produce such tapered structures with force sensing capabilities. When these techniques are applied, it is important to choose the conditions depending on the structure in order that the distance between the two channels after tapering is appropriate to the device that is being produced.

[0015] The availability of such multiple isolated force sensing channels provides a whole new arena of devices that can be applied in many areas of science and technology. In many instances it provides for new capabilities that are not available today, and in other areas it greatly improves the flexibility and reliability of some applications that can be accomplished with significant difficulty.

[0016] With this invention, numerous applications are now possible or can be significantly improved. For example, these structures could act as probes that could have multiple attributes such as chemical sensors in one channel with gas in another channel, can be micro vacuum devices with a single channel that could suck up materials and air and a second channel to release such materials, can be unique nanometric thermocouples, thermoresistors, micro voltage, micro capacitance, micro inductive, and micromagnetic devices, depending on electrical isolation or contact at the tip of electrically conducting materials, can be microlight detectors if the conductors in the channels are covered with photodetecting materials, microlight sources if the channels of conducting material are coated with electroluminescent materials, multiple channel fountain pens, multiple channel tips for multiple electrochemical and/or optical measurements, micro heating elements, can be stable micro devices for annealing, soldering, cutting, etc., or can be Peltier microcooling devices, microdynamic cavitation bubble forming devices, micro plasma generating devices with two isolated electrodes with appropriate electrical inputs, etc. In the past, some of these applications were attempted with single channel devices with less than successful results. Such a list is, of course, not exhaustive and various applications will now be possible with the availability of such devices.