Sub-15 nm nanowires enabled by cryo pulsed self-aligned nanotrench ablation on carbon nanotubes

Nanopatterning of features at current technology nodes requires expensive deep UV lithography or low throughput electron beam lithography. Here we demonstrate a modification of carbon nanotube (CNT) enabled self-aligned nanotrench ablation (SANTA) to achieve sub-15 nm dimensions for metal patterning. The technique utilizes nanoscale thermal transport within a typical polymer, in this case, poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) at cryogenic ambient temperatures (-120°C) for definition of highly scaled features. The technique shows promise for nanofabrication below sub-10 nm dimensions.