Scanning-tunneling-microscopy-based nanolithography of diamond-like carbon films

Abstract

We demonstrate an approach for nanometer-scale lithography of diamond-like carbon films employing a local electron injection from a scanning tunneling microscope tip under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions. The electrons induce a graphitization of the tetrahedrally bound carbon. With this technique, complex patterns of conducting lines and dots smaller than 10 nm can be written. Tunneling spectroscopy and conductive force microscopy were used to further characterize the carbon nanostructures. © 2004 American Institute of Physics.