Oxidation and adhesion on the quasicrystalline AlPdMn surface studied by nanolithography

We present the novel application of a relatively new technique (nanolithography) to the study of quasicrystalline surface oxidation. The 5-fold surface of an AlPdMn alloy was oxidized using a metallized AFM tip. The electrochemical nature of this process was confirmed by investigating the influence of humidity and polarity of the applied voltage on the quasicrystalline oxide. Oxides of different thickness and adhesive properties were created by altering the applied voltage and the humidity during the lithographic process. The technique can be used in an exhaustive study of properties of the various types of oxides that form on the AlPdMn surface and the preliminary results of one such study are reported.