Facile scheme for fabricating solid-state nanostructures using e-beam lithography and solution precursors

We demonstrate a facile approach for site-specific fabrication of organic, inorganic, and hybrid solid-state nanostructures through a novel combination of electron-beam lithography (eBL) and spin coating of liquid and sol-gel precursors, termed soft eBL. By using eBL patterned resists as masks in combination with a low cost process such as spin coating, directed growth of nanostructures with controlled dimensions is achieved without the need for the costly and difficult process step of etching ceramics. The highly versatile nature of the scheme is highlighted through the fabrication of nanostructures of a variety of materials such as ferroelectric, optoelectronic, and conducting polymeric materials at different length scales and spatial densities on a multitude of substrates.