  We report a lithographic process for creating high-resolution (<10 nm) carbon
templates on Si(100). A scanning electron microscope, operating under low
vacuum (10E-6 mbar), produces a carbon-containing deposit ("contamination
resist") on the silicon surface via electron-stimulated dissociation of ambient
hydrocarbons, water and other adsorbed molecules. Subsequent annealing at
temperatures up to 1320 K in ultra-high vacuum removes SiO2 and other
contaminants, with no observable change in dot shape. The annealed structures
are compatible with subsequent growth of semiconductors and complex oxides.
Carbon dots with diameter as low as 3.5 nm are obtained with a 200 us
electron-beam exposure time.
