Nanoelectrode lithography of silicon surface by brass stamp

The stamps used in the nanoelectrode lithography (NEL) process require conductive layer deposition, which makes them a bit expensive. This paper reports the feasibility of using brass materials as the conductive stamps for NEL to shorten the process step and reduce the production cost. In this paper, the fabrication of nanostructures on the brass stamp was performed on a single point diamond turning (SPDT) machine. Some burrs were formed during the machining process, that prohibit the stamps from achieving a homogeneous contact with the substrates. Introduction of a thin layer of polymer (PS-OH) on the silicon substrate showed an improvement in contact uniformity so as the oxidation. However, some areas of the substrate remained unoxidized as few of the burrs were quite large. The brass stamps could be advantageous as they show no degradation after many uses. Nevertheless, the issues of the burr formation and non-uniformity should be alleviated first to make these stamps appropriate to the NEL process.