Thermal scanning probe lithography

Thermal scanning probe lithography (tSPL) is a nanofabrication method for the chemical and physical nanopatterning of a large variety of materials and polymer resists with a lateral resolution of 10 nm and a depth resolution of 1 nm. In this Primer, we describe the working principles of tSPL and highlight the characteristics that make it a powerful tool to locally and directly modify material properties in ambient conditions. We introduce the main features of tSPL, which can pattern surfaces by locally delivering heat using nanosized thermal probes. We define the most critical patterning parameters in tSPL and describe post-patterning analysis of the obtained results. The main sources of reproducibility issues related to the probe and the sample as well as the limitations of the tSPL technique are discussed together with mitigation strategies. The applications of tSPL covered in this Primer include those in biomedicine, nanomagnetism and nanoelectronics; specifically, we cover the fabrication of chemical gradients, tissue-mimetic surfaces, spin wave devices and field-effect transistors based on two-dimensional materials. Finally, we provide an outlook on new strategies that can improve tSPL for future research and the fabrication of next-generation devices.