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Nanoscale Etching of Metallic Perovskites Using STM

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2011

Ø. Dahl
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics and Telecommunication, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
S. Hallsteinsen
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
J. K. Grepstad
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics and Telecommunication, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
A. Borg
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
T. Tybell
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics and Telecommunication, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
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Abstract

In the present work we use a scanning tunneling microscope to modify the surface structure of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films. Point and line etching experiments were carried out in ultra-highvacuum, using tungsten tips. The point etchings showed that pulses fired at small (< 4.5V) bias voltages did not bring about any physical modifications of the film surface, while voltages in excess of4.5 V led to etched holes accompanied by mounds. Moreover, well-defined line etching was achieved with atypical depth of approximately two unit cells and linewidths as small as 5 nm. The experiments demonstrate that a scanning tunneling microscope can be used for nanometer-scale patterning of SrRuO3 thin film surfaces.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004

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References

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