Super-selective cryogenic etching for sub-10 nm features.

Plasma etching is a powerful technique for transferring high-resolution lithographic masks into functional materials. Significant challenges arise with shrinking feature sizes, such as etching with thin masks. Traditionally this has been addressed with hard masks and consequently additional costly steps.

Ultra-flat coplanar electrodes for controlled electrical contact of molecular films.

Reliable measurement of electrical charge transport in molecular layers is a delicate task that requires establishing contacts with electrodes without perturbing the molecular structure of the film. We show how this can be achieved by means of novel device consisting of ultra-flat electrodes separated by insulating material to support the molecular film. We show the fabrication process of these electrodes using a replica technique where gold electrodes are embedded in a silicon oxide film deposited on the angstrom-level flat surface of a silicon wafer.

Sub-10 nm nanofabrication via nanoimprint directed self-assembly of block copolymers.

Directed self-assembly (DSA) of block copolymers (BCPs), either by selective wetting of surface chemical prepatterns or by graphoepitaxial alignment with surface topography, has ushered in a new era for high-resolution nanopatterning. These pioneering approaches, while effective, require expensive and time-consuming lithographic patterning of each substrate to direct the assembly. To overcome this shortcoming, nanoimprint molds--attainable via low-cost optical lithography--were investigated for their potential to be reusable and efficiently template the assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) while under complete confinement.

Resistive-switching crossbar memory based on Ni-NiO core-shell nanowires.

Resistive-switching memory (RRAM) is an emerging nanoscale device based on the localized metal-insulator transition within a few-nanometer-sized metal oxide region. RRAM is one of the most promising memory technologies for the ultimate downscaling of nonvolatile memory. However, to develop memory arrays with densities approaching 1 Tb cm(-2) , bottom-up schemes based on synthesis and assembly of metal oxide nanowires (NWs) must be demonstrated.

Electrostatic force assisted exfoliation of prepatterned few-layer graphenes into device sites.

We present a novel fabrication method for incorporating nanometer to micrometer scale few-layer graphene (FLG) features onto substrates with electrostatic exfoliation. We pattern highly oriented pyrolytic graphite using standard lithographic techniques and subsequently, in a single step, exfoliate and transfer-print the prepatterned FLG features onto a silicon wafer using electrostatic force. We have successfully demonstrated the exfoliation/printing of 18 nm wide FLG nanolines and periodic arrays of 1.

Tuning magnetic domain structure in nanoscale La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 islands.

The realization of spin-based devices requires high density, ordered arrays of magnetic materials with a high degree of spin polarization at surfaces. We have synthesized, for the first time, highly spin polarized complex magnetic oxide nanostructures embedded in a paramagnetic matrix by electron beam lithography and ion implantation. Imaging the magnetic domains with X-ray photoemission electron microscopy and magnetic force microscopy reveals a delicate balance between magnetocrystalline, magnetoelastic, and magnetostatic energies that can be tuned by the choice of SrTiO3 substrate orientation, film thickness, island size, and island shape.

Soft X-ray microscopy at a spatial resolution better than 15 nm.

Analytical tools that have spatial resolution at the nanometre scale are indispensable for the life and physical sciences. It is desirable that these tools also permit elemental and chemical identification on a scale of 10 nm or less, with large penetration depths. A variety of techniques in X-ray imaging are currently being developed that may provide these combined capabilities.

20-nm resolution x-ray microscopy demonstrated by use of multilayer test structures [corrected].

A spatial resolution of 20 nm is demonstrated at 2.07-nm wavelength by use of a soft x-ray microscope based on Fresnel zone plate lenses and partially coherent illumination. Nanostructural test patterns, formed by sputtered multilayer coatings and transmission electron microscopy thinning techniques, provide clear experimental results.