Electrochemical Nanostructuring of n‐Si(111) Single‐Crystal Faces

Abstract

The local formation and dissolution of low-dimensional phases and small clusters on foreign substrates plays an important role in modern nanotechnology. This paper deals with the current state of nanostructuring of semiconductor surfaces by localized electrochemical metal deposition using in situ scanning tunneling microscopy as a nano-tool. New experimental results of delocalized and localized electrochemical deposition and dissolution of Pb on n-type Si(111) single-crystal surfaces are presented. The influence of surface inhomogeneities on the local metal deposition process is considered.

Electrochemical Surface Science

“…The first attempts of electrochemical nanostructuring involved tip‐induced surface defects, generated either by mechanical contact (tip crashes) or by some sort of sputtering process (initiated by high‐voltage pulses between the tip and substrate), which then acted as nucleation centers for metal deposition at predetermined positions 133, 134. More recently, metal clusters were shown to be positioned on metal and semiconductor surfaces by a two‐step process that involved metal deposition from solution onto the STM tip, followed by a burstlike dissolution and redeposition on the sample within a narrow region directly underneath the tip 135, 136…”

Localized Electrodeposition Using a Scanning Tunneling Microscope Tip as a Nanoelectrode

“…14 They are on the one hand based on the specific pregeneration of defects which act as nucleation centers, [15][16][17] or on the other hand correlated with parasitic effects like field effects which may result in unwanted modification of either the substrate surface or the probe surface. [18][19][20] The mechanisms of all techniques which are applied with the probe in tunneling distance to the substrate is not very clear at present, and has been shown to be a superposition of different electrochemical and field effects, 21,22 even if mechanical contact can be excluded at all. An exception from these methods is the so-called ''jump to contact'' method by Kolb and co-workers, [23][24][25] which is not affected by unwanted field effects, but rather based on a controlled approach of the scanning tunneling microscope ͑STM͒ tip against the substrate.…”

Electrochemical engineering in an age of discovery and innovation

“…A single‐electron transistor operating at room temperature was recently fabricated by an electrochemical method involving localized anodic oxidation in a humid environment of smooth ultrathin Nb films on insulating SiO 2 /Si substrates with use of a biased atomic force microscope tip to define source, drain, and gate (Shirakashi et al, 1998). Many novel nanostructures have been fabricated by electrodeposition (Hansen et al, 2002; Kolb, 2002; Lorenz and Plieth, 1998), including nanoclusters containing a few dozen atoms in precise locations and arrays (Engelmann et al, 1998; Kolb et al, 1999; Poetzschke et al, 1999; Ullmann et al, 1993; Ziegler et al, 1999), insertion of specific ions into specific molecular sites (Claye et al, 2000), atomic layer epitaxy (Stickney, 2002), as well as electrochemical fabrication of nanowires (Fasol, 1998; Fasol and Runge, 1997), nanocubes (Liu et al, 2003), superlattices (Switzer, 2001), and atomically layered nanostructures (Kothari et al, 2002) and materials having unique optical (Ali and Foss, 1999; Dang et al, 2000), magnetic (Kelly et al, 2000), and catalytic (Cheng and Dong, 2000) properties. The formation of abalone shells involves a hierarchical assembly of calcium carbonate that grows epitaxially in a layered structure that is mediated by the action of several proteins acting simultaneously over very wide length scales (Belcher et al, 1996). Attempts to replicate naturally occurring structures with synthetic systems are leading to ion‐peptide systems that are remarkably similar to electrodeposition additives.…”

“…Many novel nanostructures have been fabricated by electrodeposition (Hansen et al, 2002; Kolb, 2002; Lorenz and Plieth, 1998), including nanoclusters containing a few dozen atoms in precise locations and arrays (Engelmann et al, 1998; Kolb et al, 1999; Poetzschke et al, 1999; Ullmann et al, 1993; Ziegler et al, 1999), insertion of specific ions into specific molecular sites (Claye et al, 2000), atomic layer epitaxy (Stickney, 2002), as well as electrochemical fabrication of nanowires (Fasol, 1998; Fasol and Runge, 1997), nanocubes (Liu et al, 2003), superlattices (Switzer, 2001), and atomically layered nanostructures (Kothari et al, 2002) and materials having unique optical (Ali and Foss, 1999; Dang et al, 2000), magnetic (Kelly et al, 2000), and catalytic (Cheng and Dong, 2000) properties.…”