Electrical Force Microscopy measurements on nanoconductors deposited by electropulsed SPM

The reduced dimensions of novel integrated devices and systems stresses the need for new nanopatteming techniques. We showed that metallic pixels of about 30 nm can be deposited by electropulsed SPM. Deposition is obtained by applying - 12 to - 17 V pulses to a tip coated with a CoCr metallic film while scanning in tapping mode AFM. By assembling arrays of these pixels it is possible to obtain custom-shaped conductors. We deposited rectangular conductors with dimensions from 50 x 100 nm up to 2000 x 400 nm and thickness between 2 and 3 nm. A typical conductor line of 2000 X 400 nm deposited at 40 Hz pulse frequency, 800 nm/s tip velocity and at a line density of 0.64 nm(-1) shows a thickness of approximately 3 nm. For electrical measurements this line is deposited perpendicularly and welded from the edge of a conventional Al pad used for microelectronics. The opposite end of the nanoconductor line is located by ATM and the electrical conductivity is then asserted using the conductive AFM tip in Electrical Force Microscopy (EFM) mode. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.