Nanofabrication of templates with ultra sharp SiC tips for nanoimprint lithography

Development of a novel nanofabrication process is reported for the fabrication of SiC nanoimprint templates with ultra sharp tip arrays. The process involves electron beam lithography (EBL) to pattern dot arrays, reactive ion etch (RIE) to form tip shape, oxidation/wet etch to sharpen the tips and finally silicon tips conversion into SiC to harden the tips. The resulting SiC tips are not only of high resolution for nanoimprint lithography, but also of high hardness for high pressure lithography process. Sharp tips are as small as a few nanometers. With such templates, manufacture of vacuum nano-electronic devices and large area nano-electronics can be carried out by nanoimprint lithography.