Niemeyer-Dolan technique

Niemeyer-Dolan technique for the fabrication of single electron transistors

The Niemeyer-Dolan technique, also called Dolan technique or shadow evaporation technique (the term preferred by its inventor, J. Niemeyer), is a lithographic method to create nanometre-sized overlapping structures composed of two or more materials.

A shadow mask for oblique angle evaporation is created on the substrate. Depending on the evaporation angle the shadow image of the mask is projected onto different positions on the substrate. By carefully choosing an individual angle for each material to be deposited, adjacent openings in the mask can be projected on the same spot, creating an overlay of different materials.

Usage

The Niemeyer-Dolan technique can be used to create small nanostructures, such as quantum dots or tunnel junctions. With a tunnel junction the coulomb blockade can be observed.

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