The tribonanolithography (TNL) of silicon substrate in aqueous solution based on the use of atomic force microscopy is demonstrated. A specially designed cantilever with a diamond tip, which allows the formation of a protruding oxide layer several nanometers high using a simple machining process with a given pitch, was applied to the TNL process in KOH solution instead of a conventional silicon cantilever. The anisotropic wet etching stopped in the modified area because silicon oxide was resistant to corrosion by KOH. The fabrication of a three-dimensional slant nanostructure is possible by taking advantage of the time lag of oxide formation during etching in KOH solution.
The TNL (Tribo Nanolithography) method in aqueous solution uses the atomic force microscopy as a machining tool for the nanoscale fabrication of silicon. A specially designed cantilever with a diamond tip allows the formation of oxide patterns easily by a simple scratching process. A rectangular structure with a slope can be fabricated by a process in which a thin oxide layer rapidly forms in the substrate at the diamond-tip sample junction along the scanning path of the tip, and, simultaneously, the area uncovered with the oxide layer is being etched. Etching in KOH and HF is conducted to verify corrosion characteristics of oxide.
Pulse electrochemical nanopatterning, a non-contact scanning probe lithography process using ultrashort voltage pulses, is based primarily on an electrochemical machining process using localized electrochemical oxidation between a sharp tool tip and the sample surface. In this study, nanoscale oxide patterns were formed on silicon Si (100) wafer surfaces via electrochemical surface nanopatterning, by supplying external pulsed currents through non-contact atomic force microscopy. Nanoscale oxide width and height were controlled by modulating the applied pulse duration. Additionally, protruding nanoscale oxides were removed completely by simple chemical etching, showing a depressed pattern on the sample substrate surface. Nanoscale two-dimensional oxides, prepared by a localized electrochemical reaction, can be defined easily by controlling physical and electrical variables, before proceeding further to a layer-by-layer nanofabrication process.
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