Direct Writing of Sub-5 nm Hafnium Diboride Metallic Nanostructures

Sub-5 nm metallic hafnium diboride (HfB2) nanostructures were directly written onto Si(100)-2 × 1:H surfaces using ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscope (UHV-STM) electron beam induced deposition (EBID) of a carbon-free precursor molecule, tetrakis(tetrahydroborato)hafnium, Hf(BH4)4. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy data confirm the metallic nature of the HfB2 nanostructures, which have been written down to lateral dimensions of ∼2.5 nm. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of sub-5 nm metallic nanostructures in an STM-EBID experiment.