Methods for manufacturing nano-gap and angstrom-gap articles

A method comprising:

• providing a patterned substrate having a substrate layer and a first feature disposed on the substrate, the first feature having a side extending from the substrate layer, wherein the substrate layer is exposed adjacent the side of the first feature;
• depositing a first layer of material by conformal deposition on the first feature and the exposed substrate layer to produce a coated patterned substrate, wherein the side of the first feature is coated with the material at a thickness on a nanoscale or less;
• depositing a layer of a metal on the coated patterned substrate such that the metal is deposited on the coated first feature and the coated substrate layer such that the metal is separated from the first feature by the coated material having the nanoscale or less thickness;
• and
• exposing at least a portion of the first layer of material by (i) removing the deposited metal from the coated feature to expose the first layer deposited on the first feature, or (ii) removing the substrate from the first feature.