Nanopatterning of carbonaceous structures by field-induced carbon dioxide splitting with a force microscope

We report a tip-based nanofabrication method to generate carbon nanopatterns. The process uses the field-induced transformation of carbon dioxide gas into a solid material. It requires the application of low-to-moderate voltages similar to 10-40 V. The method allow us to fabricated sub-25 nm dots and it can be up scaled to pattern square centimeter areas. Photoemission spectroscopy shows that the carbon is the dominating atomic species of the fabricated structures. The formation of carbon nanostructures and oxides by atomic force microscope nanolithography expands its potential by providing patterns on the same sample with different chemical composition.