Nanoscale patterning of self-assembled monolayers with electrons

Abstract

Articles you may be interested inSelf-assembled monolayer cleaning methods: Towards fabrication of clean high-temperature superconductor nanostructures Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 154104 (2005); 10.1063/1.1899753 Electrode modification by electron-induced patterning of self-assembled monolayersWe show the fabrication of gold nanostructures using self-assembled monolayers of aliphatic and aromatic thiols as positive and negative electron beam resists. We applied a simple and versatile proximity printing technique using focused ion beam structured stencil masks and low energy ͑300 eV͒ electrons. We also used conventional e-beam lithography with a beam energy of 2.5 keV and doses from 3500 to 80 000 C/cm 2 . Gold patterns were generated by wet etching in KCN/KOH and characterized by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The width of the finest lines is ϳ20 nm; their edge definition is limited by the isotropic etching process in the polycrystalline gold.

Electronically induced modification of thin layers on surfaces

“…SAMs serve as transfer agents in micro and nano printing techniques [5], as functional interfaces in bio sensors [5,6], as lubrication in micromechanics [5], corrosion protection [5], as ultrathin resists for lithography with ultimate resolution [5,7], but also as well defined model systems for organic layers on surfaces in fundamental research. Here we focus on the last point, using them for investigations of basic temperature effects on beam induced modifications.…”

First-principles investigation of electron-induced cross-linking of aromatic self-assembled monolayers on Au(111)

“…Evidence of lateral cross-linking of the BPT units, accompanying the electron induced cleavage of the C-H bonds, has been obtained with a variety of techniques like photoelectron (XPS) and infrared (IR) spectroscopies, as well as X-ray adsorption (NEXAFS). 5,8,9,11,15,16,21,22 The cross-links increase the stability and mechanical properties of the irradiated regions, so that irradiated BPT-SAMs could be used as an ultrathin (~15Å) negative resist for nanolithography. 15 Furthermore, these SAMs are mechanically stable as suspended monolayers even at temperatures above 1200K.…”

“…A large part of the interest has focussed on aromatic moieties as an alternative of alkane-based spacers. [6][7][8][9][10][11] Aromatic SAMs differ significantly from the aliphatic ones in geometry and intermolecular interactions, so they show different charge-transfer properties [12][13][14] and different behaviour during electron irradiation. 15,16 Here, we are interested in SAMs containing spacers formed by biphenyl (BP) groups, and, in particular, in the modifications of the structures of these films after the dehydrogenization process induced by electron irradiation.…”

Nanoscale Electrodeposition of Copper on an AFM Tip and Its Morphological Investigations

“…The resolution of EBL is also dependent on the chemical nature of the resist. Recently, new class of resists such as organic self-assembled mono layers (SAMs) has been developed to fabricate structures below 10 nm (Golzhauser et al, 2000;Lercel, 1996) Currently, electron beam lithography is used principally in support of the integrated circuit industry, where it has three niche markets. The first is in maskmaking, typically the chrome-on glass masks used by optical lithography tools.…”