A Systematic Study of Graphite Local Oxidation Lithography Parameters Using an Atomic Force Microscope

We apply nanoscale local oxidation lithography to nanopattern graphite using an Atomic Force Microscope. Systematic relationships between the produced feature size and process parameters such as applied tip voltage, water meniscus length, and tip speed during oxidation were observed. By methodically varying these process parameters, we have found the appropriate working ranges to create features of various sizes based on the oxidation of graphite structures. Feature depths and widths down to 1.2 nm and 55 nm, respectively, were obtained under low relative humidity (<30%) conditions. Optimizing the tip speed during patterning was found to be critical in maintaining the presence of the water meniscus, which was found to break above a speed of 0.10 μm/s. The results are directly applicable to nanopatterning single and bi-layer graphene in order to create advanced nanoelectronic devices.