Behavior of SiO2 nanostructures under intense extreme ultraviolet illumination

The stability of conducting atomic force microscope (C-AFM)-induced surface modifications of thermally grown SiO2 under intense illumination in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) is investigated with low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) and x-ray photoemission electron microscopy (XPEEM). With LEEM we find that the protrusions are heavily charged after their formation, but this charge is annihilated after exposure of the sample to short pulses of EUV radiation. The spectra obtained from XPEEM reveal that the stripes formed by C-AFM consist of SiO2. After extended EUV exposure, a radiation-induced desorption of the stripes as well as a desorption of the thermal oxide is observed.