Focused ion beam (FIB) systems using gallium liquid metal ion sources can remove material with a lateral resolution below 50 nm and can produce metal deposition at a similar resolution with ion beam-enhanced chemical vapour deposition. These capabilities have resulted in many valuable applications for the microelectronics industry. Circuit modifications are possible because existing connections can be severed and reconnected to different locations. Testing of circuitry can be enhanced by isolation of specific circuits, removal of overlayers and by creation of probe pads where desired. Grain sizes can be determined from secondary electron images by the delineation of individual grains due to orientation-dependent channeling of the ion beam. Secondary ion mass spectrometry analyses of small areas can provide ion images, elemental identification of small areas and endpoint detection with depth profiles. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy sections are prepared routinely using the FIB. These FIB-prepared sections are notable because specific features, such as defects, can be exposed and a range of materials including silicon, indium phosphide, gallium arsenide and even metal layers can be cut without distortion. Transmission electron micrographs of superior quality have been obtained with a large area of very uniform thickness that permits identification of features such as areas under stress.

We report an efficient method for growing NiO nanostructures by oblique angle deposition (OAD) technique in an e-beam evaporator for supercapacitor applications. This facile physical vapor deposition technique combined with OAD presents a unique, direct, and economical route for obtaining high width-to-height ratio nanorods for supercapacitor electrodes. The NiO nanostructure essentially consists of nanorods with varying dimensions. The sample deposited at OAD 75° showed highest supercapacitance value of 344 F/g. NiO nanorod electrodes exhibits excellent electrochemical stability with no degradation in capacitance after 5000 charge-discharge cycles. The nanostructured film adhered well to the substrate and had 131% capacity retention. Peak energy density and power density of the NiO nanorods were 8.78 Wh/kg and 2.5 kW/kg, respectively. This technique has potential to be expanded for growing nanostructured films of other interesting metal/metal oxide candidates for supercapacitor applications.

In this letter, we report a facile quantum dot based non-volatile resistive memory device with a switching speed of 10 ns and ON/OFF ratio of 10 000. The device showed excellent endurance characteristics for 100 000 switching cycles. Retention tests showed good stability and the devices are reproducible. Memory operating mechanism is proposed based on charge trapping in quantum dots with AlOx acting as barrier. This mechanism is supported by marked variation in capacitance value in ON and OFF states.

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