STM/AFMを用いた単一電子素子の開発

抄録

We have developed new nano-scale material processing techniques by using the probe of scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) with a cathode in air, in which the metal thin film is selectively oxidized by anodization. We call this technique STM/AFM nano-oxidation process, and this novel processing technique was applied to the surface modification of titanium (Ti) and niobium (Nb) thin films. From both Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) analysis and electrical characteristics of planartype metal/insulator/metal (MIM) diodes, it was confirmed that the obtained modified structures are of the metal oxide. Also, by adjusting the oxidation parameters, we can get the metal oxide wires with 10 nm scale dimension. Furthermore, by applying this technique to the fabrication of single electron transistors (SETS), room temperature operation was achieved in Ti/Ti oxide-and Nb/Nb oxide-based SETs.