Diamond slivers only nanometers wide could serve as atomic-force microscope tips that help print advanced circuitry, for DNA sequencing devices, or for conductivity measurements of neurons to examine synapses and signal mechanisms.

A common problem atomic-force microscopes face is how their cantilever tips break down as they run over surfaces. Researchers at Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory have invented probes made of what they call ultra nanocrystalline diamond.

The researchers found ultra nanocrystalline diamond easy to mold and shape into cantilevers with 30-nanometer-wide tips. The scientists first deposited diamond into pyramid-shaped silicon molds to form the tip, then etched the rest of the cantilever using conventional micro-fabrication techniques.