Current-induced local oxidation of metal films: Mechanism and quantum-size effects

A novel route is introduced for oxidizing thin metal films with nanometer-scale resolution. By locally subjecting Ti and Nb films to high in-plane current densities, metal-oxide tunneling barriers are formed in a self-limiting fashion. The oxidation is triggered by current-induced atomic rearrangements and local heating. At the final stages of the barrier formation, when only atomic-scale channels remain unoxidized, the oxidation rate decreases drastically while the conductance drops in steps of about 2e2/h. This behavior gives evidence of ballistic transport and a superior stability of such metallic nanowires against current-induced forces compared with the bulk metal.