High speed patterning of a metal silicide using scanned probe lithography

We describe a simple high-speed process for patterning metal silicides with an atomic force microscope (AFM). The process uses a thin AFM-generated oxide to block Pt diffusion during the formation of Pt silicide. Because the process requires only ∼1 nm of oxide, high write speeds and fine lateral resolution are achieved. We find that by maintaining ambient moisture at the tip–sample interface we can under optimal tip conditions achieve a minimum exposure time of ∼300 ns for a 30 nm size pixel which corresponds to a maximum write speed of ∼10 cm/s.