Hard X-rays and soft-matter: processing of sol-gel films from a top down route

A current trend of applied research in the field
of nanomaterials is the integration of bottom up and top
down fabrication methods. Sol–gel chemistry is widely
applied to obtain different functional materials from a
bottom up route, especially in the case of thin films. To
fabricate devices based on sol–gel films, which include
nanocomposites and mesoporous ordered materials, application
of lithography technologies is mandatory. Among
the different lithographic approaches, photolithography is
widely used by companies using micro-fabrication processes.
In this context, photolithography is a typical top
down method that requires to be integrated as much as
possible with deposition of thin films from a liquid phase.
Recently we have developed a new integrated fabrication
method which uses high energy photons, such as hard
X-rays, which typically have energies between 2.5 and
12 keV, for the manipulation and production of a large
variety of functional materials and devices. In the present
review a short overview of such achievements is presented.