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The implementation of three-dimensional (3D) nano-objects as building blocks for the next generation of electro-mechanical, memory and sensing nano-devices is at the forefront of technology. The direct writing of functional 3D nanostructures is made feasible by using a method based on focused ion beam induced deposition (FIBID). We use this technique to grow horizontally suspended tungsten nanowires and then study their nano-mechanical properties by three-point bending method with atomic force microscopy. These measurements reveal that these nanowires exhibit a yield strength up to 12 times higher than that of the bulk tungsten, and near the theoretical value of 0.1 times the Young's modulus (E). We find a size dependence of E that is adequately described by a core-shell model, which has been confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and compositional analysis at the nanoscale. Additionally, we show that experimental resonance frequencies of suspended nanowires (in the MHz range) are in good agreement with theoretical values. These extraordinary mechanical properties are key to designing electro-mechanically robust nanodevices based on FIBID tungsten nanowires.

Cone-like and empty cup-shaped nanoparticles of noble metals have been demonstrated to provide extraordinary optical properties for use as optical nanoanntenas or nanoresonators. However, their large-scale production is difficult via standard nanofabrication methods. We present a fabrication approach to achieve arrays of nanoparticles with tunable shape and composition by a combination of nanoimprint lithography, hard-mask definition and various forms of metal deposition. In particular, we have obtained arrays of empty cup-shaped Au nanoparticles showing an optical response with distinguishable features associated with the excitations of localized surface plasmons. Finally, this route avoids the most common drawbacks found in the fabrication of nanoparticles by conventional top-down methods, such as aspect ratio limitation, blurring, and low throughput, and it can be used to fabricate nanoparticles with heterogeneous composition.

In this paper, we report on a method to reduce thin films of graphene oxide (GO) to a spatial resolution better than 100 nm over several tens of micrometers by means of an electrochemical scanning probe based lithography. In situ tip-current measurements show that an edged drop in electrical resistance characterizes the reduced areas, and that the reduction process is, to a good approximation, proportional to the applied bias between the onset voltage and the saturation thresholds. An atomic force microscope (AFM) quantifies the drop of the surface height for the reduced profile due to the loss of oxygen. Complementarily, lateral force microscopy reveals a homogeneous friction coefficient of the reduced regions that is remarkably lower than that of native graphene oxide, confirming a chemical change in the patterned region. Micro Raman spectroscopy, which provides access to insights into the chemical process, allows one to quantify the restoration and de-oxidation of the graphitic network driven by the electrochemical reduction and to determine characteristic length scales. It also confirms the homogeneity of the process over wide areas. The results shown were obtained from accurate analysis of the shift, intensity and width of Raman peaks for the main vibrational bands of GO and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) mapped over large areas. Concerning multilayered GO thin films obtained by drop-casting we have demonstrated an unprecedented lateral resolution in ambient conditions as well as an improved control, characterization and understanding of the reduction process occurring in GO randomly folded multilayers, useful for large-scale processing of graphene-based material.

A stepped cantilever composed of a bottom-up silicon nanowire coupled to a top-down silicon microcantilever electrostatically actuated and with capacitive or optical readout is fabricated and analyzed, both theoretically and experimentally, for mass sensing applications. The mass sensitivity at the nanowire free end and the frequency resolution considering thermomechanical noise are computed for different nanowire dimensions. The results obtained show that the coupled structure presents a very good mass sensitivity thanks to the nanowire, where the mass depositions take place, while also presenting a very good frequency resolution due to the microcantilever, where the transduction is carried out. A two-fold improvement in mass sensitivity with respect to that of the microcantilever standalone is experimentally demonstrated, and at least an order-of-magnitude improvement is theoretically predicted, only changing the nanowire length. Very close frequency resolutions are experimentally measured and theoretically predicted for a standalone microcantilever and for a microcantilever-nanowire coupled system. Thus, an improvement in mass sensing resolution of the microcantilever-nanowire stepped cantilever is demonstrated with respect to that of the microcantilever standalone.

We present the fabrication of silicon nanowire (SiNW) mechanical resonators by a resistless process based on focused ion beam local gallium implantation, selective silicon etching and diffusive boron doping. Suspended, doubly clamped SiNWs fabricated by this process presents a good electrical conductivity which enables the electrical read-out of the SiNW oscillation. During the fabrication process, gallium implantation induces the amorphization of silicon that, together with the incorporation of gallium into the irradiated volume, increases the electrical resistivity to values higher than 3 Ω m, resulting in an unacceptably high resistance for electrical transduction. We show that the conductivity of the SiNWs can be restored by performing a high temperature doping process, which allows us to recover the crystalline structure of the silicon and to achieve a controlled resistivity of the structures. Raman spectroscopy and TEM microscopy are used to characterize the recovery of crystallinity, while electrical measurements show a resistivity of 10(-4) Ω m. This resistivity allows to obtain excellent electromechanical transduction, which is employed to characterize the high frequency mechanical response by electrical methods.

Wafer-scale nanostencil lithography (nSL) is used to define several types of silicon mechanical resonators, whose dimensions range from 20 µm down to 200 nm, monolithically integrated with CMOS circuits. We demonstrate the simultaneous patterning by nSL of ∼2000 nanodevices per wafer by post-processing standard CMOS substrates using one single metal evaporation, pattern transfer to silicon and subsequent etch of the sacrificial layer. Resonance frequencies in the MHz range were measured in air and vacuum. As proof-of-concept towards an application as high performance sensors, CMOS integrated nano/micromechanical resonators are successfully implemented as ultra-sensitive areal mass sensors. These devices demonstrate the ability to monitor the deposition of gold layers whose average thickness is smaller than a monolayer. Their areal mass sensitivity is in the range of 10(-11) g cm(-2) Hz(-1), and their thickness resolution corresponds to approximately a thousandth of a monolayer.