A method of fabricating a nanoscale cantilever probe. In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of forming a cantilever having a tip vertically extending from an end portion of the cantilever, where the tip has an apex portion having a size in a range of about 1-1000 nm, and selectively doping the cantilever with a dopant to define a first doping region in the tip and a second doping region in the rest of the cantilever, where the dopant concentration of the first doping region is substantially lower than that of the second doping region.