Electron-beam-induced deposition of gold from aqueous solutions

摘要

Focused electron-beam-induced deposition (EBID) using bulk liquid precursors is a novel approach to nanofabrication that has shown improvements in purity compared to EBID with gas-phase precursors. Here we report the first EBID of gold using bulk liquid precursors. We study the differences in gold deposited from three different aqueous solutions containing chloroauric acid (HAuCl_4), sodium tetrachloroaurate (NaAuCl_4), and the disulfitoaurate complex ([Au(SO_3)_2]~(3-)). We also examine the dependence of threshold dose upon precursor concentration and demonstrate high-resolution patterning with a pitch as small as 50 nm. Finally, we show that the purity of gold deposited using these liquid precursors is significantly improved in comparison with deposits from metal-organic gaseous precursors.