Processing outcomes of atomic force microscope tip-based nanomilling with different trajectories on single-crystal silicon

JQ Wang and YD Yan and ZH Li and YQ Geng and XC Luo and PF Fan, PRECISION ENGINEERING-JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETIES FOR PRECISION ENGINEERING AND NANOTECHNOLOGY, 72, 480-490 (2021).

DOI: 10.1016/j.precisioneng.2021.06.009

Atomic force microscope (AFM) tip-based nanomilling is an emerging technology for machining nanostructures with a high rate of material removal and slight tip wear. However, subsurface damage induced by nanomilling is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated nanomilling-induced subsurface damage of single-crystal silicon experimentally and with molecular dynamics simulations. We studied the effect of clockwise and anticlockwise trajectories on the nanochannel morphology. The clockwise trajectory resulted in a 'U'-shaped nanochannel at a relatively low normal load. Transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy analysis of the nanochannel subsurface revealed atomic-scale defects, including dislocations, stacking faults, and amorphous silicon. Molecular dynamics simulations described the evolution of the phase transformation and subsurface damage. This work reveals the mechanism of subsurface damage of single-crystal silicon in nanomilling, which will facilitate the machining of nanostructures with minimal subsurface damage.

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