Thin membranes versus bulk substrates: investigation of proximity effects in focused electron beam-induced processing

The resolution of focused electron beam induced processing techniques is limited by electron scattering processes. General wisdom holds that using a membrane, this can be effectively improved due to a cutoff of the electron interaction volume and thus diminished proximity effects. Recently, we demonstrated that in contrast to the expectation, proximity effects can be indeed larger on a 200 nm silicon nitride membrane than on the respective bulk substrate, due to charging-induced surface activation. Herein, we expand these investigations on proximity effects in electron beam-induced surface activation to other substrates and to electron beam-induced deposition followed by autocatalytic growth.