AFM TIP INDUCED SELECTIVE ELECTROCHEMICAL ETCHING OF AND METAL-DEPOSITION ON P-GAAS(100) SURFACE

Electrochemical atomic force microscopic (ECAFM) measurement showed th at electrochemical dissolution of a p-GaAs(100) electrode in H2SO4 sol ution was accelerated by the scanning of an AFM tip. When the AFM tip was scanned on the GaAs surface repeatedly, square hollows or wedges w ith critical dimensions ranging from 100 nm to several mu m were fabri cated. The depths of the modified structures were dependent not on the scan rate but on the number of scans as well as the electrode potenti al. The ECAFM study also showed that the electrodeposition of Cu on p- GaAs electrode surface selectively occurred at the modified sites.