Microelectronic Engineering 50 (2000) 59–65 www.elsevier.nl / locate / mee Nanometer scale patterning by scanning tunelling microscope assisted chemical vapour deposition a a, a a a a * F. Marchi , D. Tonneau , H. Dallaporta , R. Pierrisnard ,V. Bouchiat ,V.I. Safarov , b b P. Doppelt , R. Even a ´ ´ Faculte des Sciences de Luminy, Departement de Physique, Case 901, 13288 Marseille, France b ESPCI, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75231 Paris, France Abstract Single electron devices are of great interest for their possible replacement of transistors in memories. The key to the preparation of these components is the production of low capacitance dots, which requires a lithography step at nanometric scale. Direct patterning of metallic features at nanometric scale is possible by local decomposition of gaseous molecules under a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip, by application of a voltage of a few volts on the sample (STM assisted 7 chemical vapour deposition). The gaseous molecules are dissociated by the high electric field (about 10 V/cm) within the tip–sample gap. Rhodium lines and dots have been deposited on gold or silicon surfaces by decomposition of [Rh(PF ) Cl] . The influence of the sample voltage was studied and the resolution limit of the technique was investigated. 3 2 2  2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Lithography; Single electron device; Chemical vapour deposition; Scanning tunneling microscope; Metallization 1. Introduction It is planned that integration in ICs will double every 18 months, relying on an exponential rate decrease in MOSFET dimensions. However, it is generally believed that integration will stop when the MOSFET critical size (canal length) has decreased down to 30 nm [1]. Another problem posed by integration is the power consumption in ICs. In fact, it is well known 4 5 that the transfer of 10 –10 electrons is necessary for MOSFET commutation due to charge evacuation in junctions. This minimum current flow cannot be reduced and corresponds to a current 2 density of 1.6–16 A/mm , assuming that the MOSFET commutation time is 1 ns and the wire section 2 is 1 3 1 mm. Single electron transistors (SET), based on the Coulomb blockade phenomenon, are now considered potential candidates to replace FETs in ICs. All these devices present identical features and *Corresponding author. E-mail address: tonneau@gpec.univ-mrs.fr (D. Tonneau) 0167-9317 / 00 / $ – see front matter  2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S0167-9317(99)00265-8