title: Controlled deformation of Si3N4 nanopores using focused electron beam in a transmission electron microscope.
abstract: The controllable deformation of nanopores was realized by moving a convergent electron beam in a high-resolution transmission electron microscope. Nanostructures with the desired geometries were successfully fabricated from the original nanopores in 100 nm-thick and 260 nm-thick Si(3)N(4) membranes. The formation dynamics is a competition process between the knock-on effect of the high-energy electron beam and surface tension driven shrinkage. This approach can be used to finely tune critical dimensions and deform nanopores to particular desired geometries with single-nanometer precision, which offers substantial opportunities in flexibly fabricating nanostructures for various applications such as nanoelectronics and nanofluidics.
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Qingtao
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hengbin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Jingmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Dapeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yu