Nanolithography of Organic Polysilane Films Using Carbon Nanotube Tips

Abstract

The patterning of polysilane films is performed by means of the contact-mode-Scanning Probe Microscope(SPM) lithography technique. Both a carbon nanotube tip and a gold-coated Si tip are used. The polysilane film is directly patterned or grooved when the tip is negatively biased. It is considered that the grooves are fabricated by the scission of Si-Si bonds and volatilization of the species due to the emanating of electrons from the scanning tip. Compared with gold-coated Si tips, carbon nanotube tips produce narrower grooves with a higher scan speed and have a longer lifetime. The maximum ratio of groove depth to width can be obtained at a speed as high as 20 µm/s when using the carbon nanotube tip.