Nanometer-scale conversion of Si{sub}3N{sub}4 to SiO{sub}x for applications in lithography, micromachining, and selective-area CVD

摘要

We present the use of scanning probe oxidation of Si{sub}3N{sub}4 masks for performing nanolithography, nanomachining, and nanoscale epitaxial growth on silicon. Three most unique features of this approach are presented: (i) exceptionally fast oxidation kinetics using silicon nitride masks (～30 μm/s at 10 V for ≈5 nm thick film), (ii) selective-area anisotropic etching of Si using a Si{sub}3N{sub}4 etch mask, (iii) selective-area chemical vapor deposition of Si using a SiO{sub}2/Si{sub}3N{sub}4 bilayer growth mask.