3D micro and nano fabrication and characterization

With the advancement of scientific research, micro and nanofabrication is continually being pushed to its limits. For fabrication at the micro and nanoscale, rapid prototyping and fast turnaround, several techniques will be presented. We will elaborate the technology behind the world’s highest resolution 3D printer that can draw lines as thin as 200 nm. A wide range of spectrum of applications will be presented showing state of the art performance of the printer in various fields of life. Another technique is Gallium focused ion beam (FIB) based instruments. These charged particle instruments offer the greatest flexibility and the highest throughput for prototyping customized devices for research and development as well as industrial applications. Just like a gallium FIB, helium and neon ions can be used for nanofabrication. However, unlike gallium, features made with helium and neon can go down to few nanometers. In addition, the helium ion beam can be used to generate high resolution images of the samples in the same instrument.