Electron-beam lithography is a nanopatterning technique utilizing a very well-focused electron beam in order to write nanoscale patterns directly on special e-beam resists. A variety of powerful techniques is provided for the lateral as well as three-dimensional pattern transfer with resolutions down to 10 nm. Compared to other nanostructuring methods, it stands out for a high level of flexibility and resolution and reasonable patterning speed.

By FIB, usually combined with an electron column, it is possible to achieve nanometric structures, either by ion milling or by ion/electron beam disposition. In such systems 2D and 3D nanostructures can be fabricated, with a high degree of control and flexibility. With nanomanipulators electrical measurements are possible, as well as characterization when combined with different detectors. It is a good technique for TEM lamellae sample preparation. preparation for subsequent TEM investigations.

Ultraviolet lithography also known as optical or photolithography is the most commonly used patterning technique in microfabrication. A photosensitive material (photoresist) is spin-coated onto the substrate to be patterned. The photoresist is illuminated with UV light through a photomask which contains the relevant geometric patterns. The pattern is transferred on the photoresist, after the required development of the exposed sample.

EUV interference lithography is a powerful tool both for scientific and industrial research. A spatially filtered beam from the synchrotron is projected on a mask through multiple gratings. The diffracted beams interfere on a wafer coated with a photosensitive polymer. The tool can be used to develop novel high-resolution resists but also as a high resolution and throughput patterning technique (fabrication in parallel, sub 10 nm resolution).

High resolution 2D and 3D structuring process of a photosensitive material by means of physical and chemical changes produced in the focusing area of an ultrashort pulse laser of sufficiently high light intensity. 2D resist mask-less patterns, or polymeric micro-parts with a 3D shape can be obtained by scanning the photoresist relative to the beam focus submicron. Features of a few hundred of nm are possible in working areas of 1 cm2, which can be patched.

NIL is a low cost, high resolution and high-throughput method for nanoscale patterning. It is a simple nanolithography process that creates patterns by mechanical deformation of an imprint resist and subsequent processes. Nanoimprint lithography has demonstrated to be one of the most promising next generation techniques for large area replication in the nanometer scale. Thermal and UV assisted NIL is possible.

In AFM, short range tip-sample interactions provide insight into phenomena which take place at the surface: catalysis, friction, low dimensional magnetism, quantum properties of single atom and single molecules, etc… The knowledge gained is also used to modify the surface in a controlled way to create nanometer scale patterns. Contrary to other lithography approaches, it can provide a true 3D reconstruction of the patterns during the fabrication process.

Thermal scanning probe lithography is a mask-less, serial and direct-write lithography technique, where a cantilever with a heatable ultra-sharp silicon tip (which is only a few nanometers in diameter) is brought into contact with a special resist that is spin-coated on a substrate. The technique can be used to create sub-10 nm structures as well as complex, high resolution 3D shapes.

Block copolymer (BCP) lithography takes advantage of the self-assembly properties of BCPs to create nanoscale surface patterns in large areas. The main advantages of BCP lithography is the process simplicity, the spatial resolution and the high throughput. Block co-polymer patterns are transferred to the substrate by etching using one of the BCP phases as an etching mask.

RIE is used to etch various materials under vacuum in the presence of reactive ions. It is a simple and relatively economical solution for dry etching. The sample to be etched is placed in a vacuum chamber and gas is injected into the process chamber via a gas inlet in the top electrode. The lower electrode is negatively biased and a single RF plasma source determines both the ion density and their energy.

ICP is a reactive ion etching technique (dry etching), where plasma is generated by means of inductively coupling RF power in the source. The ion energy bombarding the substrate is independently controlled via the applied bias power. This independent control allows for a wide process space to address various requirements from anisotropic deep etching to highly chemical or physical processes.

At the end of the manufacturing when the components must be tested or used singularly,. It provides the device with a mechanical body, environment protection, thermal heat sinking and electrical connection to the real world. It encompasses dicing individual dies with automatic diamond saws, die attach with epoxies of different thermo-mechanical properties to packages of appropriate size and contact pads number, and chip-to-package wire bonding (wedge, bond and ribbon).

A metal coating to a metallic or another conducting surface can be applied by means of an electrochemical process. A current is passed from an anode to a cathode through an electrolyte causing the dissociated metal ions to gain electrons and oxidize on the surface of the cathode (surface to be coated), thereby forming a metallic coating.

Laser patterning is a material independent technique for the controlled patterning of materials at the both the micro- and the nano- length scales. The technique offers the ability to directly write patterns on the surface as well as complex 3D channels into the bulk of solid materials, including biomaterials. Various applications can range from microfluidic systems and sensors to tissue engineering scaffolds.

It is the kinetic insertion of electromagnetically accelerated ions into substrates to change the physical, chemical, or electrical properties of the sample. For instance, it is one of the ways how extra dopants are introduced in silicon substrates. Different elements such as B, P, As, Si, N, H, Ar, Ge, Mg, Al, Cl can be implanted. Small pieces can be processed.

Nano-Object Transfer & Positioning permits identifying, marking, and transferring pre-selected nano- and microscale single objects and enables their multi-analytical characterization by re-localization with different nano-science instruments at labs and ALFSs.