Precursors for Direct-Write Nanofabrication with Electrons

Focused electron beam deposition (FEBID) allows the spatially controlled formation of nanoparticles, thin films,nanowires and free-standing complex nanoarchitectures on a wide range of substrate materials. Moreover, themethod enables a growth on structured surfaces and the formation of predefined arrays by this maskless direct-writeapproach. However, the purity of the as-grown material is typically limited. According to the knowledge gained byconsidering surface science studies, several different reaction paths could be assigned according to the compositiongained in FEBID experiments as summarized in Fig. 1. Therefore, the FEBID method requires precursor developmentto provide chemical impetus driving its broader applicability. This contribution will shortly summarize the state-of theart of precursors used, which has been described in a recent review [1]. Moreover, suggestions of necessarylimitations or suggestions will be presented. The knowledge gained is applied to the synthesis procedures for metalsilicide and alloy formation. Specific examples of precursors will be discussed and approaches for targeted binarycompounds will be presented [2, 3].