Nanometer-scale engineered structures, methods and apparatus for fabrication thereof, and applications to mask repair, enhancement, and fabrications

a method for nanolithography comprising:

• (1) providing a mask, (2) providing a scanning probe microscope tip, wherein the tip is coated with a patterning compound, (3) contacting the coated tip with the mask so that the compound is applied to the mask.

a method for nanolithography comprising:

• (1) providing a substrate having at least one defect, (2) providing a tip with a patterning compound, (3) using the tip with the substrate so that the compound is applied to the substrate at the defect to repair the defect.

a method for mask fabrication comprising adding material to a substrate to form a mask by direct write nanolithography with use of a scanning probe microscopic tip to pattern material on the substrate.

55 the method according to claim 51, wherein the material is a transparent material.

a method for nanolithography comprising using a coated atomic force microscope tip to deposit a patterning compound on a substrate in mask fabrication.

a method of nanolithography comprising using a tip to layer one or more patterning compounds on a substrate so the one or more patterning compounds form a structure at least about 10 nm high.

Method of use of a scanning probe microscope to repair a mask by additive repair.

Method of use of an scanning probe microscope to prepare a mask by additive lithography.

a method comprising the steps of:

• inspecting an object by making SPM measurement of the object with a first SPM probe;
• repairing the object by adding material to the object's material with the first SPM probe or with a second SPM probe,
• wherein the adding of material is carried out by direct write nanolithographic printing by transfer of the material from the probe tip to the object.

a repaired mask comprising:

• a defective mask substrate comprising at least one nanometer-scale opening which is a defect;
• at least one additive repair nanostructure at least partially filling the opening.

a single layer nanostructure having a height of at least 100 nm and a lateral dimension of about 200 microns or less.

a multiple layer nanostructure having a height of at least 100 nm and a lateral dimension of about 200 microns or less.