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ABSTRACT: A through hole with a diameter less than 100 nm was fabricated in an Ag foil using only a focused ion beam (FIB) system and in situ measurements of the penetrating ion beam. During the drilling of the foil by a FIB of Ga(+) ions, the transmitted part of the beam was measured with an electrode mounted on the back face of the foil. When the beam current penetrating through the nanopore reached a certain value, irradiation was stopped and the area of the created aperture was measured with a scanning electron microscope. The resulting area was correlated with the current of the penetrating ion beam. This suggests that we can fabricate a nanopore of the desired size by controlling the ion beam via penetrating ion beam measurements. The smallest aperture thus created was circular with diameter of 30 nm.
The Review of scientific instruments 12/2009; 80(12):125102. · 1.52 Impact Factor
