Materials and Precursors
The range of materials deposited by EBID currently (sept. 2008) includes Al, Au, amorphous carbon, diamond, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, GaAs, GaN, Ge, Mo, Nb, Ni, Os, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ru, Re, Si, Si3N4, SiOx, TiOx, W, and is being expanded. The limiting factor is availability of appropriate precursors, gaseous or having low sublimation temperature.
The most popular precursors for deposition of elemental solids are metal carbonyls of Me(CO)x structure or metallocenes. They are easily available, but produce carbon contamination. Metal-halogen complexes (WF6, etc.) result in cleaner deposition, but they are toxic and corrosive. Compound materials are deposited from specially crafted, exotic gases, e.g. D2GaN3 for GaN.
Read more about this topic: Electron Beam-induced Deposition
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)