Advancing atomic nanofabrication
New techniques have enabled manufacturing to take place on the scale of nanometers rather than micrometers. Resist assisted Neutral Atom Lithography (NAL) is one such atomic nanofabrication (ANF) technique. In comparison to the other common ANF technique, direct deposition, resist assisted NAL does not require high dosage atomic beams and is compatible with Group III metals. Scientists at the Institute for Applied Physics (IAP) at the University of Bonn in Germany investigated the possibility of extending resist assisted NAL from Cesium and Barium to Gallium and Indium. The Germans used a Self-Assembled Monolayer (SAM) to facilitate the transfer of the pattern generated by the atomic beam, which is then modified by optical or mechanical masks, to the underlying substrate. SAMs composed of either alkanethiols or organosilicon were effective. The IAP demonstrated the feasibility of both Gallium and Indium atomic beams with thiole-covered gold substrates. By the end of the project, important insight into the inner workings of resist assisted NAL was gained. Furthermore, proving the viability of Group III metals has great significance due to their widespread use in optical, electronics and Information Technology applications.
