Direct writing in Si with a scanning tunneling microscope

摘要

Using the W tip of a scanning tunneling microscope, indentations with diameters of 2ndash;10 nm have been made directly in Sithinsp;(110) and Sithinsp;(001) surfaces. It is possible to create and image (lsquo;lsquo;write and readrsquo;rsquo;) arbitrary lines and bit patterns reproducibly with a single tip, without degrading its sharpness. The method does not require ideally flat surfaces and the indentations, when made in Si and kept in ultrahigh vacuum, are stable in time.