We report on the fabrication of artificial nanostructures in ultrathin resist films patterned by STM lithography in ultrahigh vacuum ambience. Two different types of resists, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and alkanethiol-type self-assembled monolayer (SAM), have been patterned by an UHV-STM. The PMMA patterns were analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM); the SAM patterns were investigated by STM. Lines widths down to 75 nm were reproducibly achieved in PMMA with bias voltages up to 10 V and tip currents of 1 nA. Carbon build-up due to contamination writing and resist removal was observed with the STM patterning the SAM. The PMMA pattern was successfully transferred into the underlying Mo/Si multilayer substrate by fluorine reactive ion etching (RIE), showing STM lithography as an attractive alternative to conventional e-beam lithography for the fabrication of lateral nanostructures in multilayers.
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