Study of Tip-Induced Ti-Film Oxidation in Atomic Force Microscopy Contact and Non-Contact Mode

Local anodic oxidation of metals using scanning probe techniques is mostly used for fabrication of isolated gates. The high-resistance oxide created in such a manner divides a thin metallic film into isolated regions. The tip-induced metallic oxide has not so far been used in nanolithography processes as a masking material. The aim of this contribution is to study the technological potential of a TiO$\text{}_{x}$ mask prepared by the local anodic oxidation of a Ti film. Such a mask can be used to complete a nanotechnology process using atomic force microscopy, which can be easily combined with standard optical lithography techniques. We have found that the insulating properties of the oxides prepared in contact and non-contact modes differ strongly - they represent an energy barrier of 200 meV and 400 meV, respectively.