High-Fidelity 3D-Nanoprinting via Focused Electron Beams: Computer-Aided Design (3BID)

Currently,
there are few techniques that allow true 3D-printing
on the nanoscale. The most promising candidate to fill this void is
focused electron-beam-induced deposition (FEBID), a resist-free, nanofabrication
compatible, direct-write method. The basic working principles of a
computer-aided design (CAD) program (3BID) enabling 3D-FEBID
is presented and simultaneously released for download. The 3BID capability significantly expands the currently limited toolbox for
3D-nanoprinting, providing access to geometries for optoelectronic,
plasmonic, and nanomagnetic applications that were previously unattainable
due to the lack of a suitable method for synthesis. The CAD approach
supplants trial and error toward more precise/accurate FEBID required
for real applications/device prototyping.