Laser-assisted nanoscale deposition of diamond-like carbon films on tungsten tips

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on tungsten tips under KrF excimer laser irradiation in benzene solution. The deposition process was found to be highly dependent on tip sharpness. Tips with larger curvature radii and smaller aspect ratios could not be coated with DLC films under the same condition as that for sharp tips. Raman spectra showed that more sp3 tetrahedral structures were present in the DLC films on a tip with a smaller curvature radius. Simulation results showed that the tip sharpness dependent local optical enhancement played an important role in the DLC deposition process. An optical field gradient from apex to tip body was also found in the simulation. We suggest that there are two modes in the process of DLC deposition on nanotips under different laser fluences, i.e., local apex DLC deposition under low laser fluences and phase-graded DLC deposition under high laser fluences.

[1]  S. M. Huang,et al.  Laser-assisted growth of diamond particulates on a silicon surface from a cyclohexane liquid , 1998 .

[2]  Electron emission performance of nitrogen-doped hydrogen-free diamond-like carbon coating on Mo-Tip field emitter arrays , 2000 .

[3]  Richard J. Colton,et al.  On the electrochemical etching of tips for scanning tunneling microscopy , 1990 .

[4]  Yongfeng Lu,et al.  Nano-modification on hydrogen-passivated Si surfaces by a laser-assisted scanning tunneling microscope operating in air , 2000 .

[5]  J. Burger,et al.  Chemical vapor deposition diamond for tips in nanoprobe experiments , 1996 .

[6]  Olivier J. F. Martin,et al.  Controlling and tuning strong optical field gradients at a local probe microscope tip apex , 1997 .

[7]  Xu,et al.  "Dip-Pen" nanolithography , 1999, Science.

[8]  A. Samoc,et al.  Dispersion of refractive properties of solvents: Chloroform, toluene, benzene, and carbon disulfide in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared , 2003 .

[9]  I. Lin,et al.  Enhancement of electron emission efficiency of Mo tips by diamondlike carbon coatings , 1996 .

[10]  Jogender Singh,et al.  Laser‐enhanced synthesis and processing of diamond films from liquid hydrocarbons , 1993 .

[11]  Wilfried Vandervorst,et al.  Sub-5-nm-spatial resolution in scanning spreading resistance microscopy using full-diamond tips , 2003 .

[12]  J. Randall,et al.  Fabrication of high-density nanostructures with an atomic force microscope , 2004 .

[13]  N. Xu,et al.  ENHANCING ELECTRON EMISSION FROM SILICON TIP ARRAYS BY USING THIN AMORPHOUS DIAMOND COATING , 1998 .

[14]  J. Jersch,et al.  Nanostructure fabrication using laser field enhancement in the near field of a scanning tunneling microscope tip , 1996 .

[15]  Lukas Novotny,et al.  Theory of Nanometric Optical Tweezers , 1997 .

[16]  Yongfeng Lu,et al.  Laser-induced nano-oxidation on hydrogen-passivated Ge (100) surfaces under a scanning tunneling microscope tip , 1999 .

[17]  Hong,et al.  A nanoplotter with both parallel and serial writing capabilities , 2000, Science.

[18]  J. G. Buijnsters,et al.  Diamond deposition on modified silicon substrates: Making diamond atomic force microscopy tips for nanofriction experiments , 2003 .

[19]  E. Palik.  Handbook of Optical Constants of Solids , 1997 .

[20]  S. Albin,et al.  Microwave plasma chemical vapor deposited diamond tips for scanning tunneling microscopy , 1997 .

[21]  Yongfeng Lu,et al.  Electromagnetic Calculations of the Near Field of a Tip under Polarized Laser Irradiation , 1999 .

[22]  N. Xu,et al.  Silicon tip arrays with ultrathin amorphous diamond apexes , 2002 .