Atomically traceable nanoimprint template fabrication

With the apparent demise of Moore’s Law, we have discovered a means for producing nanostructures without the use of focused optics as used in EUV lithography. Nanoimprint lithography has been shown to be able to produce molecular scale structures and has been able to reproduce electron beam lithography produced templates. Here, we show a process for imprinting 3D structures starting with atomic precision. A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is used to create digitally programmed patterns on Si(100)-H where H is removed resulting in chemically active areas. Next, area-selective Atomic Layer Deposition is used to deposit metal-oxide in the patterned areas, acting as a hard mask for reactive ion etching. Samples are then etched to create 3D structures with direct-write feature size down to 1 nm. Since the first step of the process includes atomically resolved microscopy, the 3D structures are registered to the crystal lattice which provides atomically precise metrology. These 3D structures have then been imprinted into nanoimprint lithography resists, giving direction to ultra-precise semiconductor manufacturing.