Patent ID: 6979407

Claim:
A process for producing a monolithic silicon SPM sensor comprising a holding element ( 4 ), a cantilever ( 18 ) and a sensor tip ( 21 ) which projects out of a surface of the cantilever and is delimited by three surfaces, comprising the following steps: A) oxidation of a monocrystalline (100)-silicon wafer ( 1 ) to produce an oxide layer ( 3 ) on an underside and a top side of the wafer; B) pre-patterning of a holding element ( 4 ) and of a cantilever ( 18 ) from the underside of the wafer ( 1 ); C) forming a free end of the cantilever ( 18 ) and two sides ( 14 , 15 ) of a sensor tip ( 21 ) by patterning from the underside of the wafer; and D) production of the cantilever ( 18 ) and of the sensor tip ( 21 ) by thinning of the remaining substrate material from the top side of the wafer.