Nanofabrication via atom optics with chromium

Through the use of light forces exerted by near-resonant laser light, chromium atoms are focused as they deposit onto a substrate, forming nanometer-scale structures on the surface. The laser light is in the form of a standing wave, in which each node acts as an atom-optical ''lens.'' The result is a highly accurate array of lines with a periodicity of lambda/2 = 212.78 nm and full-width at half maximum as small as 38 nm. We discuss progress with this process, in particular the fabrication of a two-dimensional array, the creation of an array with lambda/8 periodicity, the replication of the array in polymer material, the production of magnetic nanowires, and the reactive-ion etching of a chromium pattern on silicon to generate an array of distinct nanowires and/or nanotrenches.