Nano Protuberance and Groove Processing of Silicon by Diamond Tip Sliding

Abstract

The properties and mechanism of silicon protuberance and groove processing by diamond tip sliding using atomic force microscope (AFM) in an atmosphere were studied. To control the height of protuberance and the depth of groove, the processed height and depth dependencies on load and diamond tip radius were evaluated. Diamond tip of about 200nm radius sliding produces 0-5nm height protuberances on the silicon surface. In contrast, about 50nm radius tip sliding produces 0-20nm deep grooves on the silicon surface. Protuberance height processed with 200nm tip and groove depth processed with 50nm tip increase with applied load increase. Using about 100nm radius tip both protuberance and groove are produced. The hardness of processed parts is higher than that of unprocessed parts, therefore, oxidation of silicon is speculated to be caused at the rear edge of sliding contact area that the elongation stress is the highest. As application of this processing, the three dimensional nano profiles such as, 300nm×300nm square, lines and spaces with 100nm period and the standard rulers processed on silicon diffraction grating were performed.