Ion-Beam sculpting is a two-step process to make solid-state nanopores. The term itself was coined by Golovchenko and co-workers at Harvard in the paper "Ion-beam sculpting at nanometer length scales." In the process, solid-state nanopores are formed by lateral mass transport about the surface of the substrate, not simply by sputtering, which is the removal of material from the surface.
Read more about Ion-beam Sculpting: Basis, Broad Area Ion Exposure, TEM Exposure, FIB Exposure