Contact and Alignment Marker Technology for Atomic Scale Device Fabrication

This article reports on the technology to link atomic scale structures to macroscopic contact pads. Dedicated processes for electrode pattern formation in several materials have been developed and characterised. For pattern formation in CoSi2 a thermal compromise between proper silicide formation and lateral dimension loss has been established. The thermal stability of Pt and W submicron patterns (or the silicides of these) has been investigated. First results, for W in particular, show that atomically clean and flat surfaces can be realized coexisting with useful metallization patterns.