A giant step for nanotechnology

The new instrument has the capabilities of writing the novel "War and Peace" on a surface as small as a pin-head. Sosurce: Petra Dietz, pixelio

The Australian research community will soon have access to one of the most powerful nanotechnology instruments in the world, able to write and etch data on particles 10,000-times smaller than the width of a human hair.The electron beam lithography instrument is designed to write or mark nano-sized objects. The multi-million dollar electron-beam lithography (EBL) tool will be unique in Australia and is capable of ultra-high resolution patterning at very high speeds and placement accuracy. It will be housed in the soon-to-be-completed Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN) located near Monash University’s Clayton Campus and will be officially launched in March next year. With this technology scientists are able for example to microtexture surfaces. In addition to the EBL, the purpose-built facility will also host nanofabrication tools including high-resolution dual-beam focused ion beam microscopy, optical and nano-imprint lithography, deep reactive ion etching, plasma and thermally assisted material deposition, and confocal microscopy.