AVS 47th International Symposium
    Processing at the Nanoscale/NANO 6 Tuesday Sessions
       Session NS+NANO6+MM-TuM

Paper NS+NANO6+MM-TuM5
Precision Nanoscale Machining with STM-QCM

Tuesday, October 3, 2000, 9:40 am, Room 302

Session: Nanomechanics
Presenter: J. Krim, North Carolina State University
Authors: J. Krim, North Carolina State University
B. Borovsky, North Carolina State University
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We have constructed an apparatus which allows us to investigate the nanoscale machining of metal surfaces resulting from the contact of a sharp tip with a high speed vibrating surface (maximum speeds over 1 m/s).@footnote 1@ The tip (tungsten or platinum alloy) is that of a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM), and the surface is that of a metal film deposited onto a Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM). The STM-QCM combination enables machining-and-imaging experiments in which the topography of the substrate is compared before, during, and after tip-surface rubbing contact at well-defined locations. The rubbing contact is either direct tip-surface contact or tunneling contact through an oxide layer. While the STM tip alone is able to machine softer materials (such as copper), the high speed vibrations of the QCM greatly enhance machining of more durable materials and oxide films. Specially prepared surfaces permit the creation of sharper, more detailed structures with 10 to 100 nm dimensions, as is demonstrated using copper and silver surfaces exposed to oxygen gas. Our talk focuses on the robustness of resulting structures compared to the ease with which they were machined. Research supported by the NSF and the AFOSR. @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@ B. Borovsky, B. Mason, and J. Krim, submitted to J. Appl. Phys.