Desktop Fabrication of Plasmonic Nanoantennas with 10 nm Precision Using Field-Emission Scanning Probe Lithography

We demonstrate a precise, stable, and cost-effective method for fabricating plasmonic nanostructures using scanning probe lithography (SPL). This approach enables the accurate and reproducible fabrication of plasmonic nanoantennas with line widths down to 40 nm and gap size approximately 25 nm. Furthermore, geometric parameters such as length and width can be continuously tuned with a precision of 10 nm. This method eliminates the need for expensive vacuum electron beam lithography equipment and can be performed using a simple, desktop ambient atomic force microscope (AFM). Both the materials and the pattern transfer processes utilized are standard, providing a novel, convenient, and low-cost pathway for the fabrication of nanophotonic devices.