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Updated: Jul 15, 2026
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Single-Digit Nanometer Electron-Beam Lithography with an Aberration-Corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope
Published on: September 14, 2018
Sub-10 nm device fabrication in a transmission electron microscope
Michael D Fischbein1, Marija Drndić
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, 209 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
Nano Letters
|April 19, 2007
Summary
High-resolution electron microscopy enables precise nanosculpting of metal films on insulating membranes. This technique fabricates diverse nanostructures and devices for nanoelectronics and nanofluidics applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Electron Microscopy
Background:
- Fabricating complex nanostructures with high precision is crucial for advancing nanoelectronics and nanofluidics.
- Existing methods often face limitations in resolution, geometric flexibility, or yield.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the use of a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) for fabricating metal nanostructures and devices.
- To explore the versatility of this nanosculpting technique for creating various nanoscale geometries.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) to perform direct nanosculpting of metal films.
- Depositing metal films onto insulating membranes as substrates.
Main Results:
- Successfully fabricated diverse metal nanostructures including nanogaps, nanodiscs, nanorings, nanochannels, and nanowires.
- Created multi-terminal nanogap devices featuring nanoislands or nanoholes.
- Achieved tailored curvatures and complex geometries with high resolution and yield.
Conclusions:
- Nanosculpting with HRTEM offers a high-resolution, geometrically flexible, and high-yield method for fabricating nanoscale devices.
- This technique is highly attractive for applications in nanoelectronics and nanofluidics.
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