Silicon dioxide mask by plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition in focused ion beam lithography

Focused Ion Beam Lithography

Introduction to (plasma-enhanced) atomic layer deposition

Film growth by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) method relies on alternate pulsing of the precursor gases and vapors into a vacuum chamber and their subsequent chemisorption on the substrate surface (Fig. 1) [1,2]. The different steps in the process are saturative such that ALD film growth is self-limiting yielding one submonolayer of film per deposition cycle. ALD has some unique characterist...

The reason why thin-film silicon grows layer by layer in plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Thin-film Si grows layer by layer on Si(001)-(2 × 1):H in plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Here we investigate the reason why this occurs by using quantum chemical molecular dynamics and density functional theory calculations. We propose a dangling bond (DB) diffusion model as an alternative to the SiH3 diffusion model, which is in conflict with first-principles calculation results an...

Nanodispenser for attoliter volume deposition using atomic force microscopy probes modified by focused-ion-beam milling

In this letter, we describe the on-demand dispensing of single liquid droplets with volumes down to a few attoliters and submicrometric spacing. This dispensing is achieved using a standard atomic force microscope probe, with a 200 nm aperture at the tip apex, opened by focused ion beam milling. The inside of the tip is used as reservoir for the liquid. This maskless dispensing, realized in amb...

Low temperature silicon dioxide by thermal atomic layer deposition: Investigation of material properties

Investigation of material properties D. Hiller, R. Zierold, J. Bachmann, M. Alexe, Y. Yang, J. W. Gerlach, A. Stesmans, M. Jivanescu, U. Müller, J. Vogt, H. Hilmer, P. Löper, M. Künle, F. Munnik, K. Nielsch, and M. Zacharias Faculty of Engineering, IMTEK, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 103, 79110 Freiburg, Germany Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinber...