Self-assembled Fe nanowires using organometallic chemical vapor deposition and CaF2 masks on stepped Si(111)

Linear arrays of 3 nm wide Fe stripes with 15 nm spacing are fabricated by self-assembly. They are formed by photolysis of ferrocene that is selectively adsorbed between ${\mathrm{CaF}}_{\mathrm{2}}$ stripes. An ultraviolet nitrogen laser removes the organic ligands from ferrocene. Arrays of ${\mathrm{CaF}}_{\mathrm{2}}$ stripes serve as masks, which are self-assembled on a stepped Si(111) surface. Scanning tunneling microscopy is used to investigate the surface morphology during growth. A generalization of this method to other wire materials is discussed.