OPTICAL NEAR-FIELD LITHOGRAPHY ON HYDROGEN-PASSIVATED SILICON SURFACES

We report on a novel lithography technique for patterning of hydrogen- passivated amorphous silicon surfaces. A reflection mode scanning near -field optical microscope with uncoated fiber probes has been used to locally oxidize a thin amorphous silicon layer. Lines of 110 nm in wid th, induced by the optical near field, were observed after etching in potassium hydroxide. The uncoated fibers can also induce oxidation wit hout light exposure, in a manner similar to an atomic force microscope , and linewidths of 50 nm have been achieved this way. (C) 1996 Americ an Institute of Physics.