Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Materials science

Cracks tamed

Nature volume 485, pages 177–178 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Crack propagation in materials is rarely welcome. But carefully engineered cracks produced during the deposition of a film on silicon can be used to efficiently create pre-designed patterns of nanometre-scale channels. See Letter p.221

Many techniques in daily use for producing high-resolution nanopatterns are based on lithography and etching. Lithography is a process whereby light3, electrons4 or ions5 are used to create high-resolution patterns of holes, channels or more complex structures in 'resist' materials on top of a wafer. During the subsequent etching process, those layers of the wafer that are not protected by the resist are selectively removed, imprinting the patterns onto the wafer.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Cracks produced at crystal interfaces.

References

  1. Lüth, H. Solid Surfaces, Interfaces and Thin Films (Springer, 2001).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  2. Nam, K. H., Park, I. H. & Ko, S. H. Nature 485, 221–224 (2012).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Ito, T. & Okazaki, S. Nature 406, 1027–1031 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Broers, A. N., Hoole, A. C. F. & Ryan, J. M. Microelectronic Eng. 32, 131–142 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Watt, F. et al. Int. J. Nanosci. 4, 269–286 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Hakim, V. & Karma, A. Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 235501 (2005).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Chou, S. Y., Keimel, C. & Gu, J. Nature 417, 835–837 (2002).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kumar, G., Tang, H. X. & Schroers, J. Nature 457, 868–872 (2009).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Antonio J. Pons is in the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Terrassa, Barcelona 08222, Spain.,

    Antonio J. Pons

Authors
  1. Antonio J. Pons
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antonio J. Pons.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pons, A. Cracks tamed. Nature 485, 177–178 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/485177a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/485177a

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing