A new approach to preparation of single‐crystalline silicon AFM tip probes is proposed. The approach is based on growing silicon whiskers by the vapor‐liquid‐solid (VLS) process and, then, transformation of the whiskers into sharp tips. The whiskers are grown on the standard‐shaped cantilevers whose broadest surface has the crystallographic orientation (111). The cross‐section of the grown whiskers is changed in a controlled manner so that the tips take an optimal shape and sizes. The new approach allows to prepare some new versions of the probes and their combinations with other microscopic techniques (SEM, optical microscopes, etc). © 2003 American Institute of Physics