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Nanolithography is a growing field of techniques within nanotechnology dealing with the engineering (etching, writing, printing) of nanometer-scale structures. From Greek, the word can be broken up into three parts: "nano" meaning dwarf, "lith" meaning stone, and "graphy" meaning to write, or "tiny writing onto stone." Today, the word has evolved to cover the design of structures in the range of 10-9 to 10-6 meters, or structures in the nanometer range. Essentially, field is a derivative of lithography, only covering significantly smaller structures. All nanolithographic techniques can be separated into two categories: those that etch away molecules leaving behind the desired structure, and those that directly write the desired structure to a surface (similar to the way a 3D printer creates a structure).

The field of nanolithography was born out of the need to increase the number of transistors in an integrated circuit in order to maintain Moore's Law. While lithographic techniques have been around since the late 18th century, none were applied to nanoscale structures until the mid-1950s. With evolution of the semiconductor industry, demand for techniques capable of producing micro- and nano-scale structures skyrocketed. Photolithography was applied to these structures for the first time in 1958 beginning the age of nanolithography. Since then, photolithography has become the most commercially successful technique, capable of producing sub-100 nm patterns. There are several techniques associated with the field, each designed to serve its many uses in the medical and semiconductor industries. Breakthroughs in this field contribute significantly to the advancement of nanotechnology, and are increasingly important today as demand for smaller and smaller computer chips increases. Further areas of research deal with physical limitations of the field, energy harvesting, and photonics.

Optical lithography (Photolithography)
Optical Lithography (or photolithography) is one of the most important and prevalent sets of techniques in the nanolithography field. Optical lithography contains several important derivative techniques, all that use very short light wavelengths in order to change the solubility of certain molecules, causing them to wash away in solution, leaving behind a desired structure. Several optical lithography techniques require the use of liquid immersion and a host of resolution enhancement technologies like phase-shift masks (PSM) and optical proximity correction (OPC). Some of the included techniques in this set include multiphoton lithography, X-Ray lithography, light coupling nanolithography (LCM), and extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL). This last technique is considered to be the most important next generation lithography (NGL) technique due to its ability to produce structures accurately down below 30 nanometers.

Electron-beam lithography
Electron beam lithography (EBL) or electron-beam direct-write lithography (EBDW) scans a focused beam of electrons on a surface covered with an electron-sensitive film or resist (e.g. PMMA or HSQ) to draw custom shapes. By changing the solubility of the resist and subsequent selective removal of material by immersion in a solvent, sub-10 nm resolutions have been achieved. This form of direct-write, maskless lithography has high resolution and low throughput, limiting single-column e-beams to photomask fabrication, low-volume production of semiconductor devices, and research&development. Multiple-electron beam approaches have as a goal an increase of throughput for semiconductor mass-production.

EBL can be utilized for selective protein nanopatterning on a solid substrate, aimed for ultrasensitive sensing.

Dip-Pen Nanolithography
Dip-Pen Nanolithography is a scanning probe lithography technique where an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip is used to create patterns directly on a range of substances with a variety of inks. A common example of this technique is exemplified by the use of alkane thiolates to imprint onto a gold surface. This technique allows surface patterning on scales of under 100 nanometers. DPN is the nanotechnology analog of the dip pen (also called the quill pen), where the tip of an atomic force microscope cantilever acts as a "pen," which is coated with a chemical compound or mixture acting as an "ink," and put in contact with a substrate, the "paper."

Nanoimprint lithography
Nanoimprint lithography (NIL), and its variants, such as Step-and-Flash Imprint Lithography, LISA and LADI are promising nanopattern replication technologies where patterns are created by mechanical deformation of imprint resist, typically a monomer or polymer formulation that is cured by heat or UV light during imprinting. This technique can be combined with contact printing and cold welding. Nanoimprint lithography is a cost-effective, quick and effective alternative electron-beam lithography and extreme ultraviolet lithography, capable of producing patterns at sub-10 nm levels.

Scanning probe lithography
Scanning probe lithography (SPL) is a tool for patterning at the nanometer-scale down to individual atoms using scanning probes. Dip-pen nanolithography is an additive, diffusive method, thermochemical nanolithography triggers chemical reactions, thermal scanning probe lithography creates 3D surfaces from polymers, and local oxidation nanolithography employs a local oxidation reaction for patterning purposes.

Other techniques
Stencil lithography is a resist-less and parallel method of fabricating nanometer scale patterns using nanometer-size apertures as shadow-masks.

In laser printing of single nanoparticles, the optical forces induced via scattering and absorption of photons on nanoparticles are used to direct single nanoparticles to specific locations on substrates and attach them via van-der Waals forces. This technique has been demonstrated on metallic nanoparticles, which are easier to print due to their large plasmonically-induced scattering and absorption cross sections, in both serial and parallel printing methods.

Magnetolithography (ML) is based on applying a magnetic field on the substrate using paramagnetic metal masks call "magnetic mask". Magnetic mask which is analog to photomask define the spatial distribution and shape of the applied magnetic field. The second component is ferromagnetic nanoparticles (analog to the Photoresist) that are assembled onto the substrate according to the field induced by the magnetic mask.

Nanosphere lithography uses self-assembled monolayers of spheres (typically made of polystyrene) as evaporation masks. This method has been used to fabricate arrays of gold nanodots with precisely controlled spacings.

Proton beam writing uses a focused beam of high energy (MeV) protons to pattern resist material at nanodimensions.

Charged-particle lithography, such as ion- or electron-projection lithographies (PREVAIL, SCALPEL, LEEPL), are also capable of high-resolution patterning. Ion beam lithography uses a focused or broad beam of energetic lightweight ions (like He+) for transferring pattern to a surface. Using Ion Beam Proximity Lithography (IBL) nano-scale features can be transferred on non-planar surfaces.

Neutral particle lithography (NPL) uses a broad beam of energetic neutral particle for pattern transfer on a surface.