Tribonanolithography of silicon in aqueous solution based on atomic force microscopy

The tribonanolithography (TNL) of silicon substrate in aqueous solution based on the use of atomic force microscopy is demonstrated. A specially designed cantilever with a diamond tip, which allows the formation of a protruding oxide layer several nanometers high using a simple machining process with a given pitch, was applied to the TNL process in KOH solution instead of a conventional silicon cantilever. The anisotropic wet etching stopped in the modified area because silicon oxide was resistant to corrosion by KOH. The fabrication of a three-dimensional slant nanostructure is possible by taking advantage of the time lag of oxide formation during etching in KOH solution.