Abstract
The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) was utilized to generate nanoscale features on epitaxially grown, c-axis oriented YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) films. To gain a deeper understanding of the process responsible for the nanometer-sized modifications, the experiments were performed under ambient conditions as well as in ultra high vacuum (UHV). In air, systematic modifications on the scale of a few YBCO unit-cells could be achieved by applying different techniques. However, the fabrication of structures of similar size failed under vacuum conditions. This suggests that water vapor plays an important role in the generation of nanometer-sized features. Therefore, we conclude that in air an electron-induced chemical decomposition lowers the barrier height for field-evaporation and thus allows a more confined removal of material with a lower electric field.
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