Controllable three dimensional deformation of platinum nanopillars by focused-ion-beam irradiation

Freestanding nanostructures are fundamental elements to construct three-dimensional (3D) nanodevices. The bending of nanopillars by ion irradiation can be used to produce overhanging nanostructures. In this paper, we report the bending of focused-ion-beam (FIB) grown platinum nanopillars by FIB irradiation. The results show that for nanopillars originally perpendicular to the substrate, by adjusting the relative geometry of the incident ion beam and the nanopillars, desired bending direction and shape can be achieved. Such nanostructures can be used for 3D nanodevice constructions. Besides, ion irradiation with optimized conditions can be used to improve the surface morphology of the as-deposited nanopillars. Our results suggest that the method of bending freestanding nanoobjects using FIB is likely to be advantageous to construct interconnects in 3D nanostructures towards the properties investigations of selected individual nanoobjects. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.