Sulfur as a novel nanopatterning material: An ultrathin resist and a chemically addressable template for nanocrystal self-assembly

A lithographic process based on atomic force microscope (AFM)-induced localized polymerization of a thin film of sulfur, has been demonstrated. The study also used an oxidizing solution of ammonium fluoride and hydrogen peroxide for deep etch transfer. The sulfur-based resist was used as a chemical template for the direct self-assembly of nanoscopic objects. Gold nanocrystals were self-assembled at the desired location through anchoring method onto the free thiols present on the sulfur-based nanostructures. It was observed during the study that sulfur-based etch-resistant nanopatterns was fabricated on a silicon substrate at very high velocities. The study concluded that this method can be used for self-assembly of gold nanocrystals by utilizing chemical functionality. The method can be used to fabricate nanoscale structures with resistivity for etch process and chemical functionality for self-assembly.