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Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing Measurement and Phenomena

Nanostructure fabrication via direct writing with atoms focused in laser fields

Robert E Scholten, Jabez J. McClelland, E. C. Palm, Andrew D. Gavrin, R. J. Celotta

Published May 1, 1994• 12 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The techniques of atom optics can be applied during the deposition of atoms onto a surface to produce nanostructures. A laser is used to form a standing wave intensity pattern in front of the substrate. An atom beam, which has been collimated by optical means, is focused onto the substrate by dipole forces from the standing wave pattern so as to deposit a series of lines spaced by half the laser wavelength. We describe the fabrication of a Cr nanograting formed using this new technique. The experimental arrangement for deposition and the optical collimation of the atom beam are described. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of the resulting nanostructures are presented.

DOI
10.1116/1.587653

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The techniques of atom optics can be applied during the deposition of atoms onto a surface to produce nanostructures. A laser is used to form a standing wave intensity pattern in front of the substrate. An atom beam, which has been collimated by optical means, is focused onto the substrate by dipole forces from the standing wave pattern so as to deposit a series of lines spaced by half the laser wavelength. We describe the fabrication of a Cr nanograting formed using this new technique. The experimental arrangement for deposition and the optical collimation of the atom beam are described. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of the resulting nanostructures are presented.
The ability to fabricate nanometer-sized structures that are stable in air has the potential to contribute significantly to the advancement of new nanotechnologies and our understanding of nanoscale systems. Laser light can be used to control the motion of atoms on a nanoscopic scale. Chromium atoms were focused by a standing-wave laser field as they deposited onto a silicon substrate. The resulting nanostructure consisted of a series of narrow lines covering 0.4 millimeter by 1 millimeter. Atomic force microscopy measurements showed a line width of 65 +/- 6 nanometers, a spacing of 212.78 nanometers, and a height of 34 +/-+ 10 nanometers. The observed line widths and shapes are compared with the predictions of a semiclassical atom optical model.
Highly parallel and periodically narrow lines of ytterbium (Yb) atoms were successfully produced on a substrate using a near resonant laser light and direct-write atomic nanofabrication. Yb atoms are a promising material for nanofabrication using atom optics particularly due to their electric conductivity, the laser wavelength required for their manipulation, and the vapor pressure required for their fabrication. Collimated 174Yb atoms were channeled into the nodes of an optical standing wave with dipole force and then deposited onto a substrate. We clearly observed a grating pattern of Yb atoms fabricated on a substrate with a line separation of approximately 200 nm after examining the surface of the substrate with an atomic force microscope. This is the first demonstration of nanofabrication using the atom-optical approach with Yb atoms.
In this paper we report on experiments generating complex one-dimensional nanoscale patterns with the laser-focused atomic deposition technique. A beam of collimated chromium atoms intersect with an exact on-resonant laser standing wave at 7 S 3 → 7 transition of 52 Cr. With the usage of proper laser intensity and reflectivity of the retroreflecting mirror, which are used to form the standing wave, nanolines with complex spatial frequencies (both λ /2 and λ /4) can be fabricated in one-step deposition. The proportion of the two structures could be 1:1.
Direct-write atom lithography is a new technique in which resonant light is used to pattern an atomic beam and the nanostructures are formed when the atoms are deposited on the substrate. The characteristics of chromium atoms deposit on a substrateare are discussed. We simulated and analysed the characteristics of nanostructure under different laser power and on different y-plane. At the same time, the characteristics of nanostructure are analysed with respect to the effects of atomic beam divergence, the resulting full width at half maximum and contrast are shown under respective conditions.