Exfoliation of intercalated silicene: Towards the fabrication of silicene-based devices

通过各种技术对图案化薄膜的表征，研究了电子束光刻工艺对二硼化锆薄膜图案化性能的改善。这些表征表明，与常用的蚀刻剂如HF相比，磷酸（H3PO4）是一种合适的蚀刻剂。然而，发现在室温下蚀刻是缓慢的，并导致在光刻胶边缘以下的过度蚀刻。这些研究为电子束光刻技术所能实现的带的尺寸和宽高比提供了宝贵的见解。这些表征还表明，电子束光刻的任何步骤都不会影响二硼化锆薄膜的表面，这对于硅烯的生长是至关重要的。

Improving the patterning of zirconium diboride thin film by e-beam lithography process was investigated by means of characterzation of patterned thin films with various techniques.These characterizations pointed out that phosphoric acid (H3PO4) is a suitable etchant compared to other usual etchants like HF. However, etching at room temperature was found to be slow and to results into overetching below the edges of the photoresist. These investigations gave precious insights into the dimensions and the aspect ratio of the ribbons that can be realized through e-beam lithography.These characterizations also demonstrate that any of the steps of e-beam lithography does not affect the surface of zirconium diboride thin films which is of first importance to make possible the growth of silicene.