XeF gas assisted focused electron beam induced etching of niobium thin films: towards direct write editing of niobium superconducting devices.

In this work, we explore focused electron beam induced etching (FEBIE) of niobium thin films with the XeF precursor as a route to edit, on-the-fly, superconducting devices. We report the effect of XeF pressure, electron beam current, beam energy, and dwell time on the Nb etch rate. To understand the mass transport and reaction rate limiting mechanisms, we compare the relative electron and XeF gas flux and reveal the process is reaction rate limited at low current/short dwell times, but shifts to mass transport limited regimes as both are increased.

Selected Area Manipulation of MoS via Focused Electron Beam-Induced Etching for Nanoscale Device Editing.

We demonstrate direct-write patterning of single and multilayer MoS via a focused electron beam-induced etching (FEBIE) process mediated with the XeF precursor. MoS etching is performed at various currents, areal doses, on different substrates, and characterized using scanning electron and atomic force microscopies as well as Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopies. Scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals a sub-40 nm etching resolution and the progression of point defects and lateral etching of the consequent unsaturated bonds.