The routine "on demand" fabrication of features smaller than 10 nm opens up new possibilities for the realization of many novel nanoelectronic, NEMS, optical and bio-nanotechnology-based devices. Based on the thermally actuated, piezoresistive cantilever technology we have developed a first prototype of a scanning probe lithography (SPL) platform able to image, inspect, align and pattern features down to single digit nano regime. The direct, mask-less patterning of molecular resists using active scanning probes represents a promising path circumventing the problems in today's radiation-based lithography. Here, we present examples of practical applications of the previously published electric field based, current-controlled scanning probe lithography on molecular glass resist calixarene by using the developed tabletop SPL system. We demonstrate the application of a step-and-repeat scanning probe lithography scheme including optical as well as AFM based alignment and navigation. In addition, sequential read-write cycle patterning combining positive and negative tone lithography is shown. We are presenting patterning over larger areas (80 x 80 µm) and feature the practical applicability of the lithographic processes.The ability to rapidly fabricate features in sub-10 nm regime in a reproducible manner has been identified as one of the most important task to enable novel nanoelectronic, NEMS, photonic and bio-nanotechnology based devices [1,2]. Scaling the feature size down to 10 nm and below allows us to use quantum based effects like quantized excitations, single-atom electron spin qubit in silicon, and Coulomb blockade and single-electron tunneling [2]. However, state-ofthe-art manufacturing methods are far away from meeting the requirements to generate, overlay and inspect features in single digit nano-regime [3,4].In order to address this problem we are working on novel scanning probe lithography methods, in which self-actuating, self-sensing active cantilever technology is applied. In general, scanning probes are able to confine the tip-sample interaction for imaging, probing and lithography to atomic scales demonstrated by using STM [5] as well as AFM [6] Invited Paper Alternative Lithographic Technologies VII, edited by Douglas J. Resnick, Christopher Bencher, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9423, 94230E · © 2015 SPIE · CCC code: 0277-786X/15/$18
