Nanolithography by non-contact AFM induced local oxidation : Fabrication of tunneling barriers suitable for single electron devices
We study local oxidation induced by dynamic atomic force microscopy (AFM), commonly called TappingMode AFM. This minimizes the field induced forces, which cause the tip to blunt, and enables us to use very fine tips. We are able to fabricate Ti/TiOx line grids with 18 nm period and well defined isol...
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Main Authors | , , , |
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Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
27.05.1998
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | We study local oxidation induced by dynamic atomic force microscopy (AFM),
commonly called TappingMode AFM. This minimizes the field induced forces, which
cause the tip to blunt, and enables us to use very fine tips. We are able to
fabricate Ti/TiOx line grids with 18 nm period and well defined isolating
barriers as small as 15 nm. These junctions show a non-linear current-voltage
characteristic and an exponential dependence of the conductance on the oxide
width, indicating tunneling as the dominant conduction mechanism. From the
conductance - barrier width dependence we derive a barrier height of 178 meV.
Numerical calculations of the lateral field distribution for different tip
geometries allow to design the optimum tip for the most localised electric
field. The electron-beam-deposition (EBD) technique makes it possible to
actually produce tips of the desired geometry. |
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DOI: | 10.48550/arxiv.cond-mat/9805350 |