ABSTRACT
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) anodic oxidation is a very powerful technique in nanotechnology that enables the growth of oxides with a minimal thickness of about certain and a lateral resolution of a few tens of nanometers. These oxides can be used as gate oxides, as etching masks in wafer processing or as isolating dielectrics. All experimental work was done in ambient air with anodic oxidation, topographic and electrical characterisation performed by C-AFM in contact mode, fitted with Pt-Ir, Co-Cr and Ti coated n-type silicon cantilevers. After anodically oxidising closed loops of the Ti surface to form titanium-oxide walls the Ti outside of these was grounded to the backplane voltage and current-voltage ramp measurements taken inside of these walls suggest isolation. Further voltage stresses broke down the device through Fowler-Nordheim tunnelling.
