| A new approach to
microlithography that uses neutral atoms instead of light to produce patterns in silicon
has been demonstrated at NIST by scientists from Harvard University and NIST.The new
method offers the promise of one day manufacturing integrated circuits or other
microfabricated objects about 10 times smaller than is possible with light-based
lithography methods. The colorized graphic above shows a grid of gold lines drawn on
silicon using the atom lithography technique. The lines are a few micrometers wide with
extremely sharp edges (less than 100 nanometers of roughness). |
