Preparation of nanoscale templates represents an important step for synthesis and assembly of diverse nanostructures and nanoscale devices. We show that complex nano-structural templates in a thin (40 nm) layer of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) can be prepared by using locally applied electric field in an atomic force microscope (AFM). Depth of the resulting structures (1-40 nm) can be controlled by the process parameters (magnitude of electric field, exposure time, or nano-sweeping of the tip). We demonstrate that complex patterns can be scribed into the a-Si:H layer in that way. The prepared patterns exhibit different structural, optical, electrical, and electron emission properties, compared to the surroundings as detected by Raman micro-spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and conductive AFM. The silicon thin films with locally modified properties can be useful in themselves or can serve as templates for further nanoscale growth or assembly. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.