# Ultrasonic Nanofabrication with an AFM

## TL;DR

This paper explores ultrasonic AFM as a novel nanofabrication method that leverages ultrasonic vibrations to enhance surface manipulation, reduce friction, and enable subsurface feature control at the nanoscale.

## Contribution

It introduces ultrasonic vibration into AFM to improve nanofabrication capabilities, including subsurface manipulation and reduced friction effects.

## Key findings

- Ultrasonic vibration enables indentation and scratching on hard surfaces with soft AFM tips.
- Ultrasound reduces friction, enhancing manipulation precision.
- Subsurface nanoscale features can be manipulated using ultrasonic actuation.

## Abstract

Ultrasonic AFM may improve fabrication technologies on the nanometer scale. In the presence of ultrasonic vibration, hard surfaces can be indented and scratched with the tip of a soft cantilever, due to its inertia. Ultrasound reduces or even eliminates friction, and hence modifies the tip-nanoparticle-surface interactions in AFM manipulation. The subsurface sensitivity of the technique makes feasible the purposed manipulation of subsurface nanoscale features by ultrasonic actuation.

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1901.05924