Controllable shrinking and shaping of silicon nitride nanopores under electron irradiation

Modification of silicon nitride nanopores under electron beam (e-beam) irradiation was investigated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Under e-beam irradiation, all pores with diameters ranging from 40 to 200 nm undergo shrinkage, and the shrinkage rate increases with the rate of energy deposition. By using the selected-area scanning tool in the SEM, the silicon nitride nanopores can be selectively reshaped based on localized e-beam irradiation, with a characteristic dimension smaller than 10 nm. A selected-area shaping technique was proposed to controllably shrink and shape the nanopores to a special structure. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.