ABSTRACT
The rate of reaction and its dependence on electric field strength and oxide thickness have been investigated to clarify the basic mechanisms involved in the atomic force microscope (AFM) tip-induced nano-oxidation of GaAs (100). The rate of oxidation/anodization has decreased rapidly with oxide film growth due to a self-limiting influence of decreasing field strength. Next, we have demonstrated that nm-scale AFM tip-induced oxides integrated into a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure can successfully act as effective tunnel barriers for single electron transport.
