Applicability of Alkyl Monolayers on Si(111) Towards Practical Nano-scale Fabrication

A novel process of electron-beam nanometer-scale fabrication on Si(111) wafer surfaces has been proposed on the basis of application of alkyl monolayers as the patterning media. The alkyl (Cn H2n+1-) monolayers prepared with the Grignard reagents were subjected to electronbeam patterning with ambient O2 and deposition of metals onto the formed patterns by immersion into aqueous solutions containing metal ions. The tolerance of alkyl-covered Si(111) surface towards aqueous solutions has been demonstrated. The alkyl monolayer survived in Cu deposition solution containing HF, even while a visible amount of Cu deposit was built up.