The low throughput of atomic force microscopy (AFM) is the main drawback in its large-scale deployment in industrial metrology. A promising solution would be based on the parallelization of the scanning probe system, allowing acquisition of the image by an array of probes operating simultaneously. A key step for reaching this goal relies on the miniaturization and integration of the sensing mechanism. Here, we demonstrate AFM imaging employing an on-chip displacement sensor, based on a photonic crystal cavity, combined with an integrated photodetector and coupled to an on-chip waveguide. This fully-integrated sensor allows high-sensitivity and high-resolution in a very small footprint and its readout is compatible with current commercial AFM systems.

原子力显微镜 (AFM) 的低通量是其在工业计量中大规模部署的主要缺点。一个有前景的解决方案将基于扫描探针系统的并行化，允许通过同时操作的探针阵列获取图像。实现这一目标的关键步骤依赖于传感机制的小型化和集成化。在这里，我们展示了采用基于光子晶体腔的片上位移传感器的 AFM 成像，结合集成光电探测器并耦合到片上波导。这种完全集成的传感器可以在非常小的占地面积内实现高灵敏度和高分辨率，并且其读数与当前的商业 AFM 系统兼容。