Peculiarities of an anomalous electronic current during atomic force microscopy assisted nanolithography on n-type silicon

摘要

We report the observation of anomalously high currents of up to 500 muA during direct oxide nanolithography on the surface of n-type silicon {l00}. Conventional nanolithography on silicon with an atomic force microscope (AFM) normally involves currents of the order of l0~(l0)-10~7 A and is associated with ionic conduction within a water meniscus surrounding the tip. The anomalous current we observe is related to an electrical breakdown resulting in conduction dominated by electrons rather than ions. We discuss the electron source during the AFM-assisted nanolithography process, and the possibility of using this breakdown current for nanoscale parallel writing.