Chinese researchers have created a 3D nanofabrication method by using ice and fabricated 3D nanostructures.

The entire 3D nanofabrication process is realized in a vacuum.

A pattern resolution of 20 nanometers and an alignment error below 100 nanometers can be steadily achieved, according to a team of researchers at Zhejiang University.

In a vacuum of minus 130 degrees Celsius, water vapor transformed into extremely smooth thin ice. The researchers constructed 3D metal structures from this kind of ice.

The development needs far fewer processing steps and is contamination-free compared with conventional electron-beam lithography methods.

The techniques of 3D nanofabrication are important in nanoscience and nanotechnology because they are prerequisites to realizing complex, compact and functional 3D nanodevices.

The 3D nanofabrication technique using ice shows the potential in the fabrication of complicated 3D nanodevices, according to the researchers.