Nanoscale Matterhorn
Using a novel nanotip-based patterning technique, IBM scientists have created a 25 nanometer-high replica of the Matterhorn peak, a famous Swiss mountain that soars 4,478 m (14,692 ft) high on a piece of molecular glass, representing a scale of 1:5 billion (1 nanometer corresponds to 57 altitude meters). To create the 3D replica 120 individual layers of materials were removed.
Published in Science and Advanced Materials, IBM scientists have demonstrated a new technique that uses a nanoscale tip with a sharp apex - 1 million times smaller than an ant - to create 2D and 3D patterns and structures as small as 15 nanometers at greatly reduced cost and complexity. This patterning technique opens new prospects for fabricating nanosized electronics and objects in fields ranging from future chip technology to opto-electronics to medicine and life sciences.