Title: Effect of the electric-field distribution on the morphology of dot-array gratings fabricated by AFM-based nanolithography

Authors: Kexiang Hu; Fei Long; Qingkang Wang

Addresses: The National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Internet Technology on Mine, Research Center of Internet of Things, China University of Mining and Technology, 1 Jinshan East Road, Quanshan District, Xuzhou 221008, China; National Key Laboratory of Micro/Nano Fabrication Technology, Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minhang District, Shanghai 200240, China ' Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, Michigan, USA ' National Key Laboratory of Micro/Nano Fabrication Technology, Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minhang District, Shanghai 200240, China

Abstract: Local electric-field-induced anodic oxidation is one of the earliest and most extensively studied techniques in bias-assisted AFM nanolithography. The electric field provides the oxidation kinetics of nanoscale electrochemical reaction and controls the spacial resolution of the fabricated structures. Once electric field is formed, its distribution and intensity can be modified by changing the tip-sample voltage and separation. In this paper, the influence of the bias voltage on the three-dimensional (3D) radial electric field intensity distribution in the space between the tip and the sample, the influence of the electric field strength on dot-array grating structures and the morphology distribution of the nanodot structure in the dot-array grating have been analysed deeply.

Keywords: electric field intensity; nanofabrication; anodic oxidation; nanogratings; morphology distribution; nanotechnology; dot array gratings; AFM; atomic force microscopy; nanolithography; oxidation kinetics; nanoscale electrochemical reaction; bias voltage; nanodots.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNM.2017.082408

International Journal of Nanomanufacturing, 2017 Vol.13 No.1, pp.23 - 32

Received: 05 Nov 2015
Accepted: 27 Nov 2015
Published online: 23 Feb 2017 *

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