Nanolithography

Nanolithography (NL) is a growing field of techniques within nanotechnology dealing with the engineering (patterning e.g. etching, depositing, writing, printing etc) of nanometer-scale structures on various materials.

Translated from Greek, this word can be divided into three parts: "nano" - a dwarf, "lit" - a stone and "graphic" - to write or "tiny letters on a stone." Today the word has expanded to cover the design of structures in the range of 10 −9 to 10 −6 meters or structures in the nanometer range. In fact, this field is a derivative of lithography, covering only much smaller structures. All nanolithographic methods can be divided into two categories: those that etch away molecules leaving the desired structure, and those that directly write the desired structure onto the surface (similar to how a 3D printer creates a structure).

Nanolithography (NL) is a growing field of techniques within nanotechnology dealing with the engineering (patterning e.g. etching, depositing, writing, printing etc) of nanometer-scale structures on various materials.