Electrochemical nanolithography on silicon: An easy and scalable method to control pore formation at the nanoscale

Abstract

Lithography on a sub-100 nm scale is beyond the diffraction limits of standard optical lithography but is nonetheless a key step in many modern technological applications. At this length scale, there are several possible approaches that require either the preliminary surface deposition of materials or the use of expensive and time-consuming techniques. In our approach, we demonstrate a simple process, easily scalable to large surfaces, where the surface patterning that controls pore formation on highly doped silicon wafers is obtained by an electrochemical process. This method joins the advantages of the low cost of an electrochemical approach with its immediate scalability to large wafers.