Nano and 2D materials are of intense research interest by both academic and industrial communities as these materials provide great promise for next generation electronic devices and various other applications. When fabricating such devices, patterning the electrical contacts with conventional fabrication techniques (electron beam lithography (EBL), photolithography, focused-ion beam (FIB) lithography) becomes challenging and time consuming due to overlay requirements. The use of energetic particles, such as electrons, photons, or ions, can also lead to less than desired device performance due to damage from the charged particles or ultraviolet irradiation as well as contamination from residual resist. The time intensive processing often comes from the random positioning of nanomaterials or 2D flakes on substrates which makes locating such materials and overlaying the intended patterns challenging. To confront these challenges, thermal scanning probe lithography (t-SPL), enabled by the NanoFrazor, is offering an alternative direct-write nanolithography method that utilizes thermal energy to perform the patterning process [1-4]. t-SPL generates patterns by scanning an ultrasharp tip over a sample surface to induce local changes with a thermal stimulus. By using thermal energy as the stimulus, it is possible to perform various modifications to the sample via removal, conversion, or addition of/to the sample surface. Along with an ultrasharp tip, the t-SPL cantilever contains several other important functions such as an integrated thermal height sensor and an integrated heating element. To complement the nanopatterning capabilities of t-SPL, the NanoFrazor has a direct laser sublimation (DLS) module to pattern larger (>500nm) features such as electrical traces and contact pads. With nano and microlithography capabilities in a single tool, the NanoFrazor provides the resolutions needed for complete device fabrication, which is interesting for nanoelectronics, photonics, molecular sensing, and quantum computing applications. In this presentation, the background and workings of t-SPL will be introduced along with the fabrication and electrical performance of nanowire and 2D transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) devices. To complete the presentation, the next generation NanoFrazor capabilities in parallelized large area patterning and automation of user operations will be shown.
