Investigation of tip-induced ultrathin Ti film oxidation kinetics

The peculiarities of the local oxidation process of ultrathin amorphous titanium films by scanning probe microscope are discussed. It is shown that the tip-induced oxidation process can be considered as electrochemical anodic oxidation. A model of the tip-induced oxidation kinetics is proposed. It is shown that film resistance, relative humidity, applied voltage and duration of oxidation are effects on the rate and resolution of the process. The possibility of formation of 8 nm oxide patterns by tip-induced oxidation is demonstrated.