Hierarchical and nanosized pattern formation using dual beam focused ion beam microscope.
Direct and controlled nanopatterning is a promising new area to study in nanofabrication. Dual ion and electron beam microscopy offers such nanofabrication potentials with simultaneous high resolution electron beam imaging and ion beam patterning. This work investigates the unexplored potentials of ion and electron dual beam microscope to create different feature shape and hierarchical sized nanopatterns. Nanotrack and nanopore patterns with 100 nm distance were created with focused ion beam on high purity aluminum substrate. The track width is less than 32 nm and the pore size is less than 50 nm. Different size nanopores have been precisely aligned to form hierarchical pore patterns. Also, the nanopatterns have been selectively modified to change the local nanofeature dimensions by sweeping low dose ions across a defined area. This work shows that dual beam focused ion beam technique is capable of overcoming some basic limitations of current nanofabrication processes and creating innovative nanopatterns for different applications.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 213 Holden Hall, M/C 0237, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Kathy
K
Lu