Figure 2
Preparation and characterization of an electrochemical gripper on an AFM-cantilever. (a) Schematic representation of the electrochemical setup to control the electrode at the end of an AFM-cantilever by a potentiostat. The electrochemical cell was placed on top of an inverted optical microscope. (b) SEM image of a cantilever with an insulation layer, which has been selectively removed at the front. (c) Schematic representation of the preparation steps: an insulation layer of electropaint has been deposited onto an AFM-cantilever that has been coated from both sides with gold. Then, this insulation layer has been partially removed from the apex of the cantilever by FIB-milling. (d) Cyclic voltammogram (CV) for the thereby formed electrode on the cantilever that acts then as electrochemical gripper. The CV confirms that the electrode is electrochemically active (black) in comparison to a completely insulated cantilever (red).
