Markers prepared by focus ion beam technique for nanopositioning procedures

Positioning on the nanometer scale with replaceable nanotools requires well defined positioning marks to restore the coordinate system with nanoscale accuracy. In this work we propose such patterns (references, markers) consisting of self-organized surfaces and hierarchic patterns written by the focus ion beam (FIB) technique. These patterns are realized either by a deposition of platinum or by cuts with different width, length, height and/or depth. The hierarchic patterns allow the use of automatic search routines for the recovery of the coordinate system on a sample surface. These patterns contain relative large markers for optical detection and are refined down to the nanoscale level. Finally, mesoscopic, self-organized features within these FIB written patterns enables an accurate positioning of the probe on the sample with nanoscale accuracy.