Self-Aligned Crystallographic Multiplication of Nanoscale Silicon Wedges for High-Density Fabrication of 3D...

High-density arrays of silicon wedges bound by {111} planes on silicon (100) wafers have been created by combining convex corner lithography on a silicon dioxide hard mask with anisotropic, crystallographic etching in a repetitive, self-aligned multiplication procedure. A mean pitch of around 30 nm has been achieved, based on an initial pitch of ∼120 nm obtained through displacement Talbot lithography. The typical resolution of the convex corner lithography was reduced to the sub-10 nm range by employing an 8 nm silicon dioxide mask layer (measured on the {111} planes). Nanogaps of 6 nm and freestanding silicon dioxide flaps as thin as 1-2 nm can be obtained when etching the silicon at the exposed apices of the wedges. To enable the repetitive procedure, it was necessary to protect the concave corners between the wedges through "concave" corner lithography. The produced high-density arrays of wedges offer a promising template for the fabrication of large arrays of nanodevices in various domains with relevant details in the sub-10 nm range.