Flexible single-step fabrication of programmable 3D nanostructures by pulse-modulated local anodic oxidation

A flexible single-step nanofabrication approach was developed using programmable pulse modulation local anodic oxidation for the efficient generation of various 3D nanostructures. The dependence of oxidation growth on pulse parameters was derived from parametric studies, from which an analytical process model was developed for the first time to link the pulse parameters with the geometry of 3D nanostructure with precision. The nanofabrication approach was implemented on an atomic force microscope. Experimental results show that this approach can effectively create 3D nanostructures with minimum feature sizes of sub-10 nm (lateral) and sub-nm (vertical) with nm and sub-nm level precision, respectively.