Patterning of silicon surfaces with noncontact atomic force microscopy: Field-induced formation of nanometer-size water bridges

摘要: Nanometer-size water bridges have been used to confine the oxidation of silicon surfaces with a noncontact atomic force microscope. The formation bridge between two separated by gap few nanometers is driven application an electrical field. Once liquid formed, its length and neck diameter can be modified changing tip-sample separation. provides ionic species spatial confinement pattern Si(100) in microscopy. method applied write arrays several thousands dots periodicity 40 nm average width 10 nm.