Low voltage electron beam lithography in self‐assembled ultrathin films with the scanning tunneling microscope

With a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) operating in vacuum, we have studied the lithographic patterning of self‐assembling organosilane monolayer resist films. Where the organic group is benzyl chloride, the resist layer can be patterned with electrons down to 4 eV in energy. The patterned films have been used as templates for the electroless plating of thin Ni films. Linewidths down to ∼20 nm have been observed in scanning electron micrographs of the plated films. Still smaller features are observed in STM images of the exposed organosilane films.