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SCANNING PROBE LITHOGRAPHY

Nanoscale patterning hots up

Nature Electronics volume 2, pages 13–14 (2019)Cite this article

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A nanolithography technique that uses a heated scanning probe tip can precisely pattern metal electrodes on two-dimensional semiconductors, creating field-effect transistors with exceptional performance.

Electron beam lithography (EBL) is a reliable and commercially available direct-writing technique that can be used to create nanoscale patterns. While the approach is widely used, it is expensive and suffers from a number of drawbacks such as the fact that it requires ultrahigh vacuum. As a result, a range of alternative methods have been explored including those based on scanning probe microscopes. These scanning probe lithography (SPL) methods, which include, for example, dip-pen lithography1, typically involve the direct generation of surface patterns or features. A modified technique is thermal scanning probe lithography (t-SPL) in which a heated scanning probe tip is used to pattern a temperature-sensitive material. Writing in Nature Electronics, Edoardo Albisetti, Elisa Riedo and colleagues now show that t-SPL can be used to pattern metal electrodes with high resolution and high throughput, creating nanoelectronic devices with exceptional performance2. It is a demonstration that suggests the technique could challenge the dominance of EBL.

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Fig. 1: Fabricating devices with thermal scanning probe lithography.

adapted from ref. 2, Springer Nature Ltd

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Programmed Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Qiyuan He & Hua Zhang

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  1. Qiyuan He
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  2. Hua Zhang
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Correspondence to Hua Zhang.

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He, Q., Zhang, H. Nanoscale patterning hots up. Nat Electron 2, 13–14 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-018-0197-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-018-0197-7

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