Surface atom fabrication method and apparatus

Abstract

A fine-fabrication method of solid surfaces relates to a new surface fabrication method allows a solid-device surface to be fabricated at an atomic scale so as to produce an ultra-fine device or a device for recording information at an ultra-high density. A probe is installed with a tip thereof facing to the surface of a specimen to undergo fabrication. A voltage for forming an electric field is applied between the probe and the specimen. The electric field is large enough to field-evaporate atoms constituting the specimen or the probe; the electric field field-evaporates atoms constituting the specimen, removing them from the surface of the specimen; and as another alternative, the electric field field-evaporates atoms constituting the probe, depositing them on the surface of the specimen. Further, in another surface atom fabrication method, while the surface of a specimen is observed at an atomic scale using a surface observation technique by means of a scanning tunnelling microscope, a pulsative voltage large enough for the field evaporation of atoms described above is applied between the probe and the specimen at any arbitrary desired positions on the surface of the specimen; and the pulsative voltage field-evaporates and, hence, eliminates atoms one by one from the surface of the specimen.