A surprising low-tech tool—Scotch Magic tape—was one of the
keys to the discovery
An international group of researchers from the University of
Minnesota, Argonne National Laboratory and Seoul National University have
discovered a groundbreaking technique in manufacturing nanostructures that has
the potential to make electrical and optical devices smaller and better than
ever before. A surprising low-tech tool of Scotch Magic tape ended up being one
of the keys to the discovery.
The research is published today in Nature Communications, an
international online research journal.
Combining several standard nanofabrication techniques—with
the final addition of the Scotch Magic tape—researchers at the University of
Minnesota created extremely thin gaps through a layer of metal and patterned
these tiny gaps over the entire surface of a four-inch silicon wafer. The
smallest gaps were only one nanometer wide, much smaller than most researchers
have been able to achieve. In addition, the widths of the gaps could be
controlled on the atomic level. This work provides the basis for producing new
and better nanostructures that are at the core of advanced electronic and
optical devices.