A group of researchers in the Beckman Institute have discovered a practical method for direct writing of metal lines less than five nanometers (5 nm) wide, a big step in creating contacts to and interconnects between nanoscale device structures like carbon nanotubes and graphene that have potential uses in electronics applications.
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A group of researchers in the Beckman Institute have discovered a practical method for direct writing of metal lines less than five nanometers (5 nm) wide, a big step in creating contacts to and interconnects between nanoscale device structures like carbon nanotubes and graphene that have potential uses in electronics applications.
Recent research by Lyding’s group has demonstrated methods for depositing graphene on semiconducting substrates and creating semiconducting carbon nanotubes that make these carbon-based materials practical candidates for integration into electronics and other devices that now rely on silicon and metals to operate. In this paper, the researchers report on a technique for the patterning of metallic nanostructures on surfaces toward future fabrication of nanoelectronics and quantum devices.
A 3D rendering of HfB2 nanopatterns directly written on Si(100)-2 x 1:H surface.
The researchers write that “current top-down fabrication technologies used in industry involve conventional lithographic processes, which are approaching their fundamental size limits." Responding to the current challenges involving fabrication at scales smaller than 10 nm, they have demonstrated the ability to write metal lines that are less than 5 nm wide.
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Contact: Joseph Lyding, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 217/333-8370.
Angus Rockett, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 217/333-0417.
Writer: Steve McGaughey, Beckman Institute.
If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, editor, Engineering Communications Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 217/244-7716.