Fabrication of germanium and silicon nanostructures using a scanning tunneling microscope

The state of the art of research on the fabrication of semiconductor surface nanostructures using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is reviewed. The continuous atom transfer occurring due to directional surface diffusion initiated by the STM electric field and involving field-induced evaporation is analyzed. The effect of irradiation with an external electron beam on the tip – sample interaction is discussed, which consists in reducing the barrier for direct interatomic reactions and in changing the direction of the tip – sample atomic transfer. The possibilities of fabricating germanium and silicon nanostructures such as islands and lines and also making silicon windows on oxidized silicon surfaces are demonstrated.