You can buy nanometer tips but they are pricey. Each tip costs about $100 and you must buy a pack of ten.
I would like to go some other way, much cheaper. (As I don't know if I could make one)
The cheapest way to fabricate AFM-tip is using Tungsten wire and NaOH solution.
I bought 100mg of Sodium hydroxide (NaOH)
100ml of tap water and 8mg of NaOH(two tea spoons), and we have a solution, yeah!
Place it in some unused glass cup, made a anod using copper loop of diameter about 2cm anod (copper wire of 1.3mm).
![](https://cdn.hackaday.io/images/7460611686017951083.jpg)
Attached about inch of Tungsten wire(0.25mm diameter) (cathod) and dipped cathod and anod into the solution.
![](https://cdn.hackaday.io/images/1569271686017989740.jpg)
Connect Tungsten wire to plus and copper loop to minus. (If you see a lot of bubbles and 100mA you probably connected wrong polarity) In my case I see a little bit of bubbles only on copper side. After 30 minutes I got some results. (Clumsy me, I managed to drop it when inserting to a microscope, so the tip looks bend)
![](https://cdn.hackaday.io/images/3650601685828911883.jpg)
Will continue next week to get better results.
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