Application of transmission electron microscopes to nanometre-sized fabrication by means of electron beam-induced deposition

Bringing Electrochemical Three-Dimensional Printing to the Nanoscale

Nanoscale 3D printing is attracting attention as an alternative manufacturing technique for a variety of applications from electronics and nanooptics to sensing, nanorobotics, and energy storage. The constantly shrinking critical dimension in state-of-the-art technologies requires fabrication of complex conductive structures with nanometer resolution. Electrochemical techniques are capable of producing impurity-free metallic conductors with superb electrical and mechanical properties, however, true nanoscale resolution (<100 nm) remained unattainable. Here, we set new a benchmark in electrochemical 3D printing. By employing nozzles with dimensions as small as 1 nm, we demonstrate layer-by-layer manufacturing of 25 nm diameter voxels. Full control of the printing process allows adjustment of the feature size on-the-fly, printing tilted, and overhanging structures. On the basis of experimental evidence, we estimate the limits of electrochemical 3D printing and discuss the origins of this new resolution frontier.

Additive Manufacturing of Metal Structures at the Micrometer Scale

Currently, the focus of additive manufacturing (AM) is shifting from simple prototyping to actual production. One driving factor of this process is the ability of AM to build geometries that are not accessible by subtractive fabrication techniques. While these techniques often call for a geometry that is easiest to manufacture, AM enables the geometry required for best performance to be built by freeing the design process from restrictions imposed by traditional machining. At the micrometer scale, the design limitations of standard fabrication techniques are even more severe. Microscale AM thus holds great potential, as confirmed by the rapid success of commercial micro-stereolithography tools as an enabling technology for a broad range of scientific applications. For metals, however, there is still no established AM solution at small scales. To tackle the limited resolution of standard metal AM methods (a few tens of micrometers at best), various new techniques aimed at the micrometer scale and below are presently under development. Here, we review these recent efforts. Specifically, we feature the techniques of direct ink writing, electrohydrodynamic printing, laser-assisted electrophoretic deposition, laser-induced forward transfer, local electroplating methods, laser-induced photoreduction and focused electron or ion beam induced deposition. Although these methods have proven to facilitate the AM of metals with feature sizes in the range of 0.1-10 µm, they are still in a prototype stage and their potential is not fully explored yet. For instance, comprehensive studies of material availability and material properties are often lacking, yet compulsory for actual applications. We address these items while critically discussing and comparing the potential of current microscale metal AM techniques.

The applications of in situ electron energy loss spectroscopy to the study of electron beam nanofabrication

An in situ electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) technique has been developed to investigate the dynamic processes associated with electron-beam nanofabrication on thin membranes. In this article, practical applications germane to e-beam nanofabrication are illustrated with a case study of the drilling of nanometer-sized pores in silicon nitride membranes. This technique involves successive acquisitions of the plasmon-loss and the core-level ionization-loss spectra in real time, both of which provide the information regarding the hole-drilling kinetics, including two respective rates for total mass loss, individual nitrogen and silicon element depletion, and the change of the atomic bonding environment. In addition, the in situ EELS also provides an alternative method for endpoint detection with a potentially higher time resolution than by imaging. On the basis of the time evolution of in situ EELS spectra, a qualitative working model combining knock-on sputtering, irradiation-induced mass transport, and phase separation can be proposed.

Nanofabrication by advanced electron microscopy using intense and focused beam∗

The nanogrowth and nanofabrication of solid substances using an intense and focused electron beam are reviewed in terms of the application of scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM and STEM) to control the size, position and structure of nanomaterials. The first example discussed is the growth of freestanding nanotrees on insulator substrates by TEM. The growth process of the nanotrees was observed in situ and analyzed by high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) and was mainly controlled by the intensity of the electron beam. The second example is position- and size-controlled nanofabrication by STEM using a focused electron beam. The diameters of the nanostructures grown ranged from 4 to 20 nm depending on the size of the electron beam. Magnetic nanostructures were also obtained using an iron-containing precursor gas, Fe(CO)5. The freestanding iron nanoantennas were examined by electron holography. The magnetic field was observed to leak from the nanostructure body which appeared to act as a 'nanomagnet'. The third example described is the effect of a vacuum on the size and growth process of fabricated nanodots containing W in an ultrahigh-vacuum field-emission TEM (UHV-FE-TEM). The size of the dots can be controlled by changing the dose of electrons and the partial pressure of the precursor. The smallest particle size obtained was about 1.5 nm in diameter, which is the smallest size reported using this method. Finally, the importance of a smaller probe and a higher electron-beam current with atomic resolution is emphasized and an attempt to develop an ultrahigh-vacuum spherical aberration corrected STEM (Cs-corrected STEM) at NIMS is reported.