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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Fabrication of Zero Mode Waveguides for High Concentration Single Molecule Microscopy

Fabrication of Zero Mode Waveguides for High Concentration Single Molecule Microscopy

Published on: May 12, 2020

Etching gold tips suitable for tip-enhanced near-field optical microscopy.

Lior Eligal¹, Ferhat Culfaz, Vincent McCaughan

¹Department of Physics, King's College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom.

The Review of Scientific Instruments

|April 2, 2009

Summary

Researchers developed a fast, single-step electrochemical etching method to create high-quality gold tips for tip-enhanced near-field optical microscopy. These reproducible tips enable detailed imaging of single quantum dots.

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Nanotechnology
Optical Microscopy

Background:

Tip-enhanced near-field optical microscopy (TENORM) requires specialized probes.
Fabricating high-quality, reproducible tips for TENORM is challenging and time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a simple, rapid, and reproducible method for fabricating gold tips for TENORM.
To characterize the fabricated tips and demonstrate their utility in imaging.

Main Methods:

A single-step direct current electrochemical etch was employed to fabricate gold tips.
The etching process was analyzed in detail to ensure reproducibility.
Tip geometry, including radius of curvature and aspect ratio, was optimized.

Main Results:

Smooth gold tips with a radius of curvature of approximately 40 nm were produced within minutes.
The tips exhibited an aspect ratio suitable for shear force measurements.
Reproducible, high-quality tips were consistently fabricated.
Near-field images of single quantum dots were successfully obtained using the fabricated tips.

Conclusions:

The described electrochemical etching method offers a simple and efficient way to produce gold tips for TENORM.
This technique enables the generation of reproducible, high-quality tips essential for advanced optical microscopy.
The method facilitates high-resolution imaging of nanoscale phenomena, such as single quantum dots.