Nanostructuring of Titanium-Doped Diamond-Like Nanocomposite Films via Electric Probe Lithography

The influence of titanium doping of diamond-like nanocomposite films a-C:H,Si:O on the process of their structuring by the technique of bias-induced probe nanolithography of the scanning probe microscope (SPM) was studied. It has been found that titanium doping suppresses formation of dendritic-like structures that grow in undoped a-C:H,Si:O films at relative humidity above 50%. Instead of dendritic-like nanostructures, hill-like protrusions arise. At the same time, a decrease in the electrical conductivity and an increase in the friction forces in the modified region are close to those on films without metal. The mechanisms of the observed effects are discussed.