Patent attributes
A monolithic pair of nanoscale probes, including: a substrate having a cavity that extends from a surface of the substrate into its body; a dielectric layer formed on the substrate; a pair of nanoscale probe precursors formed over the dielectric layer; a plurality of sub-monolayers of electrode material selectively atomic layer deposited over the pair of nanoscale probe precursors. The dielectric layer includes a window that extends through it to the cavity of the substrate such that a portion of the dielectric layer adjacent to the window extends over the cavity. The pair of nanoscale probe precursors includes a pair of edges facing each other across the window. These edges correspond to tips of the pair of nanoscale probes. The sub-monolayers of electrode material include the pair of edges, so that a distance between the tips of the nanoscale probes is between about 0.1 nm and about 20 nm.
