Chemical modification for nanolithography using scanning tunneling microscopy

Abstract

The key processes needed to push scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) nanolithography (surface modification by STM) into the realm of ordinary semiconductor processes (electron-beam and photolithography) are examined. Complicated nanofeatures are successfully fabricated on an inorganic resist (Ag-Se film), implying the potential possibility of transcription of nanopatterns on a wide variety of substrates. The advantages and disadvantages of two tip-scanning modes (vector scan and raster scan) for writing complicated nanopatterns are described. A scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) study clarifies chemical composition of the fabricated nanostructures, which is important for precise pattern transcription.