Reduction of a feature dimension in a nano-scale device

A method of fabricating a nano-scale device with reduced feature dimensions comprising:

• forming a plurality of spaced apart first nanowire features on a surface of a substrate, the first features being spaced apart from one another by first gaps;
• consuming the surface of the substrate, such that the consumed surface reduces a core dimension of the first features;
• and
• forming a second nanowire feature in a first gap between adjacent first features, such that the device has a set of nanowire features that comprises the reduced-dimension first features and the second feature separated from the first features by second gaps that are narrower than the first gaps.

A method of fabricating a nano-imprinting mold with reduced feature dimensions comprising:

• forming a plurality of spaced apart first nanowires on a surface of a silicon substrate to create a silicon imprinting mold, the first features being spaced apart from one another by trenches;
• thermally oxidizing the surface of the imprinting mold, a thermal oxide layer embedding into the silicon surface to an oxide depth and covering the first nanowires;
• depositing an oxide layer on the thermal oxide layer;
• directionally etching the oxide layers from a bottom of the trenches to the oxide depth;
• adding silicon to the etched trench bottoms to fill the trenches;
• polishing the mold along a horizontal plane, at least the added silicon and the oxide layers being removed along the horizontal plane to the oxide depth;
• and
• selectively removing a remainder of the oxide layers from in the trenches, such that a second nanowire remains between and separated from the first nanowires,
• wherein the first nanowires have a width reduced by an amount equal to twice the oxide depth.

A method of fabricating a nano-imprinting mold with reduced feature dimensions comprising:

• forming a plurality of spaced apart first nanowires on a surface of a substrate to create features of an imprinting mold, the first nanowires being spaced apart from one another by trenches;
• oxidizing the surface of the imprinting mold to an oxide depth;
• depositing an oxide layer on the oxidized surface;
• adding a nanowire material to the trench bottoms to fill the trenches;
• and
• selectively removing the oxide layer and the oxidized surface to the oxide depth from in the trenches, such that a second nanowire remains between and separated from the first nanowires by sub-trenches.