Nano-structure fabrication and manipulation by the cantilever oscillation of an atomic force microscope

The authors report the direct fabrication and manipulation of nano-structures by using the cantilever oscillation of an atomic force microscope (AFM). The oscillating cantilever exerts a large enough force to break the surface bond and subsequently remove the atoms. Various reliable groove patterns on GaAs, with fully controlled width and depth, are achieved by adjusting the feedback gain of the AFM and the applied force. Furthermore, the selection and the subsequent removal of individual InAs self-assembled quantum dots is also shown to be possible.