A combined scanning tunneling microscope-atomic layer deposition tool.
We have built a combined scanning tunneling microscope-atomic layer deposition (STM-ALD) tool that performs in situ imaging of deposition. It operates from room temperature up to 200 °C, and at pressures from 1 × 10(-6) Torr to 1 × 10(-2) Torr. The STM-ALD system has a complete passive vibration isolation system that counteracts both seismic and acoustic excitations. The instrument can be used as an observation tool to monitor the initial growth phases of ALD in situ, as well as a nanofabrication tool by applying an electric field with the tip to laterally pattern deposition. In this paper, we describe the design of the tool and demonstrate its capability for atomic resolution STM imaging, atomic layer deposition, and the combination of the two techniques for in situ characterization of deposition.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA. jfmack@stanford.edu
James F
JF
Mack
Philip B
PB
Van Stockum
Hitoshi
H
Iwadate
Fritz B
FB
Prinz