NIST physicists have developed a new method using light to create ultrasmall metallic nanostructures, potentially revolutionizing computer chip and microcircuit manufacturing. The “atom optics” technique surpasses conventional lithography by focusing matter waves with light lenses, allowing precise manipulation of atoms into repeating patterns.
The NIST team, led by Rajeev Gupta, Jabez McClelland, and Robert Celotta, has successfully created chromium lines and dots as small as 38 nanometers wide – less than one thousandth the diameter of a human hair. These structures are the most accurate “rulers” available on the nanometer scale.
The next step is to create more complex patterns, which may be possible by moving the silicon surface as atoms are focused through laser waves. This research is part of the Consortium on Light Force Dynamics, a collaboration of six research groups at four institutions sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Keywords: nanotechnology, atom optics, matter waves
