Nanolithography with neutral chromium and helium atoms

We describe two experiments that use neutral atomic beam techniques to write nanostructures. In the chromium experiment, we have used neutral chromium atoms to write one- and two-dimensional periodic nanometer-scale structures in a direct way. The periodic structure is given to the atomic beam by a laser light mask. In a second experiment, we have used a self-assembling monolayer as a resist for metastable helium atoms in a proximity printing experiment.