A method of producing sharp tips useful for scanning probe microscopy and related applications is described. The tips are formed by deposition into a mold(s) formed in a sacrificial crystalline semiconductor substrate with an exposed {311} surface which has been etched with a crystallographic etchant to form a 3-sided, trihedral or trigonal pyramidal mold(s) or indentation(s). The resultant tips, when released from the sacrificial mold material or substrate, are typically formed in the shape of a trigonal pyramid or a tetrahedron. Another embodiment involves starting with a {100} surface and the formation of two tips on opposite ends of a wedge at trigonal or trihedral points of the wedge. These tips are less susceptible to the tip wedge effect typical of tips formed using known methods.