One of the most high-resolution electron-beam lithography systems in Europe will soon be helping scientists in Yorkshire break new ground in nanotechnology.
The state-of-the art system is to be installed at the University of Leeds, thanks to a £2.7 million grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), in partnership with the Universities of Sheffield and York. Its purchase is supported by additional strategic investment from the University of Leeds and industrial funding for PhD studentships, bringing the total investment in the facility to close to £4 million. The instrument - which will be unique in the region - is to be supplied by world-leading electron microscope manufacturer JEOL. Electron-beam lithography systems are widely used by researchers to pattern wires, dots, rings and sophisticated integrated structures on a submicron length scale. The system that is coming to Leeds will able to define features that are less than 10 nanometres in size - more than 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. This will allow researchers to fabricate new generations of high frequency electronics and spintronic devices and to study novel magnetic materials, with the potential for commercialization over the next five to 10 years. The system will also enable researchers to fabricate electrodes that are small enough to connect to individual molecules or groups of molecules, leading to new classes of hybrid, bioelectronic materials that could have applications in medical diagnostics.
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