NANOMETER-SCALE ELECTRON-BEAM PROCESSING AND IN-SITU ATOMIC OBSERVATION OF VACUUM-DEPOSITED MGO FILMS IN HIGH-RESOLUTION TRANSMISSION ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY

Nanometre scale processing was performed on vacuum-deposited single crystalline magnesium oxide films by using a nanometre-sized electron beam in high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Two kinds of processing, drilling and edge-flattening, were demonstrated. The resolution of the present processing was demonstrated by the minimum size of the hole being about 4 nm and the minimum distance between holes being 14 nm. The shape modulation during the processing was observed for the first time in situ dynamically at atomic resolution. The dynamic observations in HRTEM showed that the processing is caused by desorption of constituent atoms from the solid state surface of the magnesium oxide films. It was found that the size of the processing area could be controlled at the atomic scale by adjusting the irradialtion time during the in situ observation of the processing.