Nano-FIB from Research to Applications — a European Scalpel for Nanosciences

Abstract

Controlled and reproducible fabrication of nano-structured materialsis one of the main scientific and industrial challenges for the nextfew years. We have recently proposed exploitation of the nano-structuringpotential of a high resolution focused ion beam tool to overcomebasic limitations of current nano-fabrication techniques. The aimof this article is to present our research efforts in combining ionsource and ion optics specifically for high-resolution applications.First, we detail the very high resolution FIB instrument we havedeveloped specifically to meet nano-fabrication requirements. Finally,we present the instrument now capable of fabricating directly nano-poreswith diameters below 5 nm.