NANOMETER FABRICATION USING SELECTIVE THERMAL-DESORPTION OF SIO2 INDUCED BY FOCUSED ELECTRON-BEAMS AND ELECTRON-BEAM INTERFERENCE-FRINGES

Based on our earlier works, 10 nm open windows in the SiO2, Si nanowir es, and Ge nanowires were fabricated using electron beam induced selec tive thermal desorption (EB-STD) of SiO2 on Si substrates. In this art icle, we show that selective etching can be performed with oxygen gas using an SiO2 mask which includes approximately 10-nm-wide open window s formed by STD using focused EB. We also demonstrate the formation of an approximately 10 nm periodic surface structure of Si and SiO2 by S TD after irradiation with EB interference fringes. The mechanisms rela ted to these techniques are also discussed. These various methods indi cate that EB-STD will be useful for fabricating Si structures of the o rder of 10 nm. (C) 1998 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-211X(98)02905- 9].