Focused electron-beam-induced deposition of 3 nm dots in a scanning electron microscope.

Electron-beam-induced deposition allows the creation of three-dimensional nanodevices within a scanning electron microscope. Typically the dimensions of the fabricated structure are from 20 nm to several micrometers. Until now the record for the smallest deposited feature in an SEM was 3.5 nm, measured by an indirect method. We have achieved a nanodot having a full width half-maximum of 2.8 +/- 0.3 nm, measured directly in the same microscope after deposition.