Nondestructive tribochemistry-assisted nanofabrication on GaAs surface

A tribochemistry-assisted method has been developed for nondestructive surface nanofabrication on GaAs. Without any applied electric field and post etching, hollow nanostructures can be directly fabricated on GaAs surfaces by sliding a SiO2 microsphere under an ultralow contact pressure in humid air. TEM observation on the cross-section of the fabricated area shows that there is no appreciable plastic deformation under a 4 nm groove, confirming that GaAs can be removed without destruction. Further analysis suggests that the fabrication relies on the tribochemistry with the participation of vapor in humid air. It is proposed that the formation and breakage of GaAs-O-Si bonding bridges are responsible for the removal of GaAs material during the sliding process. As a nondestructive and conductivity-independent method, it will open up new opportunities to fabricate defect-free and well-ordered nucleation positions for quantum dots on GaAs surfaces.