Patent ID: 7444856

Claim:
A device for electrical, electrochemical or topographical analysis, comprising: a) a cantilever with a top and a bottom surface; b) one or more probes, wherein each of said probes has a tip end and a base end, wherein said tip end of said probe comprises an electrode, wherein said tip end of each of said probes has a radius of curvature of less than about 50 nm, and wherein a ratio of the distance between said tip end and said base end of said probe and the diameter of said base end of said probe is greater than about 19:1; and c) a holder for each of said probes, wherein said holder is positioned on the top surface of one end of said cantilever, wherein said holder has a bore to hold said base end of said probe, wherein said probe is situated inside said bore of said holder and is oriented with said tip end pointing away from said top surface of said cantilever, and wherein said holder extends from said top surface of said cantilever to less than the tip end of said probe.