AVS 46th International Symposium
    Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Division Wednesday Sessions
       Session NS-WeM

Paper NS-WeM10
Fabrication of Metal Nano-wires using Carbon Nanotube Masks

Wednesday, October 27, 1999, 11:20 am, Room 612

Session: Nanopatterning
Presenter: W.S. Yun, Seoul National University, Republic of Korea
Authors: W.S. Yun, Seoul National University, Republic of Korea
K.-H. Park, ETRI, Republic of Korea
J.S. Ha, ETRI, Republic of Korea
K. Park, ETRI, Republic of Korea
J. Kim, KRISS, Republic of Korea
S.K. Kim, Seoul National University, Republic of Korea
J.-P. Salvetat, EPFL, Switzerland
L. Forró, EPFL, Switzerland
Correspondent: Click to Email
Circumventing problems lying in the conventional lithographic techniques, we devised a new method for the fabrication of nanometer scale metal wires using the unique characteristics of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Since carbon nanotubes could act as masks when CNT-coated thin Au/Ti layer on a SiO@sub 2@ surface was physically etched by low energy argon ion bombardment (ion milling), Au/Ti nano-wires were successfully formed just below the CNTs exactly duplicating their lateral shapes. Cross-sectional analysis by transmission electron microscopy revealed that the edge of the metal wire was very sharply developed indicating great difference in the milling rates between the CNTs and the metal layer as well as the good directionality of the ion milling. We could easily find a few nanometer-wide Au/Ti wires among the wires of various widths. After the formation of nano-wires, the CNTs could be pushed away from the metal nano-wire by atomic force microscopy. The lateral force for the removal of the CNTs is dependent upon the width and shape of the wires. Resistance of the metal nano-wires without the CNTs was also measured through the micro-contacts defined by electron beam lithography. Since this CNT-based lithographic technique is, in principle, applicable to any kinds of materials, it can be very useful in exploring the fields of nano-science and technology, especially when it is combined with the CNT manipulation techniques.