Overview #
FIBs are fantastic tools to create nanostructures; they have the unrivalled capability to produce features with nanometer precision. However, preparing large, millimeter-sized areas of nanostructures with FIBs remains a challenge. Making millions of nanostructures for large arrays is often not feasible as the time for milling the structures, called structuring time, often require days for a single sample. Using an FIB ion source capable of larger beam currents can reduce the structuring time (Figure 1), but typically with a trade-off in pattern fidelity.
Structuring Time Calculations #
The time necessary to pattern a structure is a function of the pattern size; the ion beam current, accelerating voltage, and spot size; and the sputtering yield of the ion-solid interaction. Calculations performed by the FIB software typically rely on estimating the sputter yield in a well studied substrate, usually Si.
Alternative Nanopatterning Technologies #
While FIBs excel at nanostructuring complicated patterns, the time cost of the patterning can be prohibitive. Alternatively, other technologies should be considered if the desired structure is large or repetitive. Lithography techniques, especially electron beam lithography (EBL), can be used to make many different patterns effectively and quickly.
