Abstract: Talking into account limitations of traditional nanofabrication approaches such as complicated manipulation and high cost, a new friction-induced fabrication method is proposed. With the native oxidation layer as etching “mask”, nanofabrication of silicon can be achieved by scanning with a Si₃N₄ probe and subsequent selective etching in KOH solution. By optimization of the tip radius, the groove structure with small line-width can be realized on monocrystalline silicon surface. Then, etching time dependence of groove depth is investigated to determine the best etching time for fabricating nanostructure.Finally, the effect of applied load and number of sliding cycles on nanostructure fabrication is studied. As a maskless and simple method, the proposed nanofabrication approach makes possible to fabricate surface texture with special functions, micromechanical valves for fluidic manipulation, single-electron devices, etc. With these advantages and potential applications, the direct fabrication method provides opportunities for nanofabrication

Key words: friction-induced nanofabrication, selective etching, silicon nitride probe;monocrystalline silicon