Abstract
Local-oxidation nanolithography by scanning probe microscopy (SPM) has enabled us to fabricate nanometer-scale oxide wires on Si surfaces. Here, we investigate the size dependence of the wires on the dynamic properties (oscillation amplitude, Q-factor) of the cantilever used in tapping-mode SPM local oxidation. With the enhancement of oscillation amplitude from 72 to 432 nm at a natural Q-factor of 505, the width and height of the Si oxide wires were controlled and ranged from 31.3 to 18.3 nm in width and from 1.5 to 0.4 nm in height, respectively. On the other hand, when the amplitude was fixed at a natural value of 144 nm, local oxidation with a low Q-factor of 193 realized an oxide wire with a width of 33.7 nm and a height of 1.2 nm. At a high Q-factor of 1665, the width and height of the fabricated Si oxide wire were 24.9 and 1.0 nm, respectively. These results imply that the size of the oxide wire is more strongly affected by the oscillation amplitude of the cantilever than the Q-factor.