Nondestructive nanofabrication on monocrystalline silicon via site-controlled formation and removal of oxide mask

摘要： A nondestructively patterned silicon substrate serves as an ideal support for forming high-quality optical structures or devices. A new approach was proposed for fabricating site-controlled structures without destruction on a monocrystalline silicon surface via local anodic oxidation (LAO) and two-step postetching. The nondestruction was demonstrated by conductivity detection with conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM), and an almost perfect crystal lattice was observed from the fabricated hillock by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). By programming AFM tip traces for LAO processing, site-controlled nondestructive patterns with di?erent layouts can be produced. This approach provides a new route for realizing nondestructive optical substrates.