Dimensionally constrained materials are at the
forefront of current materials research because
of their novel and often enhanced physical, chemical
and biological properties. These effects are
pertinent to all classes of materials: ceramics,
metals and polymers. Often times dimensionality
effects are manifested as internal structure
variations in polycrystalline materials. There are
reports indicating that internal microstructural
inhomogenities such as grain boundaries and porosity
even in nanostructures can further enhance their
performance metrics such as gas sensitivity, for
example. These results, coupled with the maxim
that "microstructure is a material s DNA" underscore
the need for novel approaches to tailor
the internal microstructure of nanopatterns. One
such technique is soft-electron beam lithography
(soft-eBL), which utilizes liquid precursors (e.g.
sol) as the material source for patterning variety
of ceramic nanostructures with dimensional control
down to 30 nm. Several novel features of soft-eBL
for ceramic nanostructure fabrication and as an
enabler for advanced materials characterisation and
for miniaturised devices are discussed.
forefront of current materials research because
of their novel and often enhanced physical, chemical
and biological properties. These effects are
pertinent to all classes of materials: ceramics,
metals and polymers. Often times dimensionality
effects are manifested as internal structure
variations in polycrystalline materials. There are
reports indicating that internal microstructural
inhomogenities such as grain boundaries and porosity
even in nanostructures can further enhance their
performance metrics such as gas sensitivity, for
example. These results, coupled with the maxim
that "microstructure is a material s DNA" underscore
the need for novel approaches to tailor
the internal microstructure of nanopatterns. One
such technique is soft-electron beam lithography
(soft-eBL), which utilizes liquid precursors (e.g.
sol) as the material source for patterning variety
of ceramic nanostructures with dimensional control
down to 30 nm. Several novel features of soft-eBL
for ceramic nanostructure fabrication and as an
enabler for advanced materials characterisation and
for miniaturised devices are discussed.