MRI: Acquisition of an Electron-beam Lithography System for Nanofabrication and Nanoscience Research and Education

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Electron beam lithography is a high-vacuum technique that writes nanoscale patterns on a surface using an electron beam. At Missouri S&T, electron beam lithography will be used for the nanomanufacturing of materials, and for the characterization of nanostructured materials produced by other methods. Possible transformational results that will be enabled by the instrumentation include the demonstration of the size limit of an emerging solid-state memory known as resistance random access memory, measuring the efficiency of metal-oxide-metal diodes for converting infrared light into electrical energy, and providing the fundamental science necessary to build a topological quantum computer. The requested instrument will serve as a regional resource to academia and industry. It will be used directly by graduate students and postdoctoral associates under the guidance of a Ph.D. instrument specialist. The instrument will also be invaluable for educational outreach. The Materials Science and Engineering Department annually hosts the ASM/Missouri S&T Materials Camp for 50+ high school juniors and seniors. During this week-long camp, the students will be shown demonstrations of the electron beam lithography facility, and they will use the equipment on select individual projects. As part of their studies, these groups make a presentation to their fellow campers.Electron beam lithography will be used for the nanomanufacturing of materials, and for the characterization of nanostructured materials produced by other methods. The requested instrument offers sub-5 nm linewidth using electron beam lithography resists, and sub-7 nm linewidth using electron-beam induced deposition. It features a high-precision X-Y-Z stage with laser interferometer for X-Y positioning. A gas injection system allows for direct-write, electron-beam induced deposition. The instrument will be fitted with a single gas injection system for the deposition of either tungsten or platinum lines. In addition to nanomanufacturing capabilities, the instrument will be fitted with four nanoprobes that can be used for transport measurements on nanostructured materials such as nanowires. This capability will obviate the need for a clean room. Specific topics of research that will be enabled with the instrumentation include, i) nano-manufacture features for studying the physics and applications of nanophotonics and optical metamaterials, ii) generate nano-cavities for fundamental studies of laser crystallization phenomena, iii) produce bio-MEMS devices to study the interaction between plant roots and root zones, iv) grow nanowire and nanotube arrays through confined electrodeposition on lithographically patterned nanoelectrodes, v) produce nano-crossbar arrays of metal oxide materials to determine the scalability of an emerging solid-state memory known as resistance random access memory, vi) nanomanufacture metal-oxide-metal diodes for energy harvesting, vii) fabricate arrays of meta-atoms on superconducting thin films to examine the tunable magnetic response of the medium, and viii) perform fundamental measurements on topological insulators and superconductors. Possible transformational results from the proposed research include the demonstration of the size limit of resistance random access memory, measuring the efficiency of metal-oxide-metal diodes for converting infrared light into electrical energy, and providing the fundamental science necessary to build a topological quantum computer.