Introduction

Nano-fabrication aims at building nanoscale structures, which can be used as components, devices, or systems, in large quantities with potentially low costs. Here, a nanoscale structure is characterized by a feature size in the range of 0.1 to 100 nm. Recently, ion beams have become increasingly popular tools for the fabrication of various types of nanoscale structures for different applications. In this chapter, the capabilities of the ion beam (IB) technology for nano-fabrication using the projection printing and direct writing approaches are discussed and examined.

The IB technology has many advantages over other energetic particle beams in nano-fabrication. For example, when compared to electrons, ions are much heavier and can strike with much greater energy density on the target at relatively short wavelengths to directly transfer patterns on hard materials (such as semiconductors, metals, or ceramics) without producing forward- and backscattering. Thus, the feature size of the patterns is directly dictated by the beam size and the interaction of the beam with the material considered. On the other hand, the electron beam or photon beam can only effectively write on or expose soft materials (such as photo or e-beam resists), and the corresponding feature sizes are determined by the proximity of the backscattered electrons or wave diffraction limits. Furthermore, the lateral exposure in IB is very low; thus, just exposing the right areas.