Fabrication of metallic nanowires with a scanning tunnelling microscope

A procedure to pattern thin metal films on a nanometer scale with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) operating in air is reported. A 30 nm film of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) is deposited on a 10 nm film of TaIr. Applying a negative voltage between the STM tip and the a‐Si:H film causes the local oxidation of a‐Si:H. The oxide which is formed is used as a mask to wet etch the not‐oxidized a‐Si:H and subsequently, the remaining pattern is transferred into the metal film by Ar ion milling. Metal wires as narrow as 40 nm have been fabricated. Since a‐Si:H can be deposited in very thin layers on almost any substrate, the presented procedure can be applied to structure all kind of thin films on a nanometer scale.