Scanning probe lithography-based mix-and-match technique as an enabling tool for the pilot production of nanowire-based next-generation electromechanical sensors

Abstract

This work reports multiscale devices with nanoscale components, such as nanowires, that act as highly sensitive transducers, while the microscale architecture functions as a physical interface to the macroscopic world. In addition to electromechanical devices, junctionless field-effect transistors obtained by a mix-and-match lithography approach are discussed as an example of advanced semiconductor miniaturization. Such efforts rely on scalable nanopatterning techniques that achieve sub-10 nm resolution while minimizing proximity effects and energy consumption. Hence, the latter is demonstrated through a combination of field-emission scanning probe lithography (FE-SPL) with maskless photolithography. The results demonstrate FE-SPL as a viable, energy-efficient alternative to electron-beam lithography for scalable nanoscale transistor fabrication.