I: From Image Force to Isotropy (of Matter)

image force - a force on a charge due to the charge or polarization that it induces on sur-
rounding solids.

imide -a chemical compound containing the >NH group attached to two carbonyl (or equiv-
alent) groups.

impact - n collision between two bodies where relatively large contact forces exist during a
very short interval of time.

impedance - the ratio of voltage to current amplitudes in a two terminal electric network
operating at alternating current. It is a complex characteristic including the real part called
resistance and ihe imaginary part called reactance.

implicit function theorem states that if a function has nonzero slope at a point, then it can
always be approximated by a linear function at this point.

imprinting - a lithography technique used for nanopattern fabrication. There are two ap-
proaches within it. The first is based on the transfer of a monolayer of self-assembled
molecules from an elastomeric stamp to a substrate and is referred to as ink contact printing or
simply inking. The second approach uses molding of a thin polymer film of the mask material
by a stamp under controlled pressure at elevated temperature and is referred to as embossing.
No kind of irradiation is involved in the pattern formation. Therefore, both techniques avoid
the shortcomings associated with wave diffraction and scattering.
A common feature of the imprint approaches is that they in fact are replication techniques.
The patterns envisaged must be available at an original, the master or stamp. In analogy
with conventional lithography, there is the possibility of positive and negative patterning. The
originals muqt be fabricated following state of the art in nanolithography using, for example,
electron beam lithography or scanning probes. For the imprint technology, where the stamp is
the functional equivalent of the photo-mask in conventional pro.jection lithography, a stepper
can be used for the manufacturing process.

incoherent light - an electromagnetic radiation in the optical range consisting of waves not
all of the same phase and possibly with different wavelength.

incoherent scattering - scattering of particles or waves in which the scattering centers act
independently of one anothcr, so that there are no definite phase relations among the different
parts of the scattered beam.
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 inking 141

independent electron approximation is used to solve the Schrodinger equation for elec-
trons in solids. It removes the complications of electron-electron interactions and replaces
them with a time averaged potential.
inductance - the property of an electric circuit or of two neighboring circuits whereby by
electromagnetic induction an electromagnetic force is generated in one circuit by a change of
current in itself or in the other one.
inelastic collision - a collision process in which the total kinetic energy of the colliding par-
ticles is not the same as before. Part of the kinetic energy is converted into another type of
energy, i. e. into heat, excitation, etc.
inelastic scattering - a scattering process in which the total energy or interacting (colliding)
particles is conserved but their total momentum is not. Transformation of one type of energy
into another type, for example kinetic energy of motion into heat or excitation energy, takes
place. An alternative is elastic scattering.
inert gases - He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn, also called rare gases.
inhibitor -a substance whose addition to a reacting system results in a decrease in the rate of
reaction.
injection laser - see semiconductor injection laser.
inking - one of the approaches used for pattern fabrication by imprinting. The process is
~ ~

presented schematically in Figure 48.

Figure 48: Inking process stcp: (a) stamp covcrcd wilh monomer and suh.;traleprior to im-
printing, (h) self-assembled monolayer pattern lcft at he substrate aftcr the \Lamp removal.

An elastomer stamp with a patterned surface is covered with ink and pressed onto the
substrate. The ink composition is chosen to be able to form a self-assembled monolayer after
coming intu contact with the substrate. This monolayer then serves as a mask for further
processing, either by etching or surface reaction. The latter is particularly attractive since
functionalisation is intrinsic to the inking process.
Thc clastomeric stamp is normally made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Thiols and
alkanethiolates are :tppropriate to be used as inks. Some of thc technologicrtl challenges for
the application d inking are the alignment and diffusion of the self-assembled monolayer and
also deformation of the stamp.
142 in situ

Mechanical stresses introduced into the PDMS stamp by handling, gravity or forces gen-
erated on the stamplsubstrate interface during the propagation of the contact front have a
negative effect on the alignment. Furthermore, due to large thermal expansion in the elas-
tomer (for PDMS this is of the order of lo4 K-l), already small thermal fluctuations in the
environment make it difficult to control the effective stamp dimension. A solution is to put
a very thin pattern film (< 10 pm thick PDMS) on a rigid carrier, like a silicon wafer, that
reduces the diqtortion effects acting on the stamp.
Diffusion of the ink occurs during the printing stage, i. e. the period of actual contact be-
tween stamp and surface. Diffusion phenomena constitute a complex interplay between gas
diffusion, movement of ink molecules and lateral movement of chemisorbed ink. Reduced
diffusion leads to better resolution and hence to smaller printed feature sizes. The straightfor-
ward approach is printing with heavy inks. Long-chain thiols can be extended only to a certain
limit, since further elongation leads to less-ordered, and thus less etch-resistant monolayers.
With thiols, the resolution is about 100 nm.
First described in: A. Kumar, G. M. Whitesides, Featurc>sof gold having micrometer to
centinzetre dimensions can hr,fornt~dthrvugh a cornhination of'stumping with an elustomeric.
stump and an alkanethiol 'ink' followed by chemical etching, Appl. Phys. Lett. 63(14),
2002-2004 ( 1 993).
in situ -Latin meaning "in the place", "within". The phrase "in situ analysis of experimental
samples" is often used to show that the samples are analyzed in the place where they were
fabricated, for instance in the same vacuum chamber. An alternative is ex situ (Latin "away
from the place") analysis where the samples are analyzed in a different place from that where
they were fabricated.
insulator - a substance highly resistant to a flow of electric currents. It has a resistivity of
more than 1 01° (2 cm and high dielectric strength. A solid is an insulator if there is an energy
gap between its conduction band and valence band and the conduction band is not filled
with electrons.
integrated circuit - an electronic solid state circuit composed of semiconductor transistors
and diodes, resistors and capacitors, other electronic components and their interconnects fabri-
catcd in a single technological process intolonto a single substrate. Monocrystalline silicon is
currently a widely used material for integrated circuits. The invention of the integrated circuit
started the revolution in electronics and information technologies.
First &scribed by J. S . Kilby in 1958.
More rlrtails in: J . S . Kilby, In~~entinn
o f t h e integruted circuits, IEEE Trans. Electron.
Dev. 23(7), 648-654 ( 1 976).
Recognition: in 2000 J . S. Kilby shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Z. I. Alferov and
K. Kroemer for his part in the invention of the integrated circuit.
See also www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/2000/index.html.
interface - a shared boundary between two materials.
interference - variation with distance or time of the amplitude of a wave, which results from
the superposition (algebraic or vector addition) of two or more waves having the same or
nearly the same frequencies.
 ion Iaser 143

internal photoelectric effect - excitation of electrons from the valence band of a semicon-
ductor to its conduction band as a result of light :tbsorption.
internal quantum efficiency - see quantum efficiency.
interstitial - a position in a crystal lattice between regular lattice positions of ;tttoms. The
term is used for an atom occupying an interstitial position.
intrinsic semiconductor - if the concentration of charge carriers in a semiconductor is a
characteristic of the material itself rather than dependent upon an impurity content or structural
defects of the crystal, then the semiconductor is defined as an intrinsic semiconductor.
intron - a nucleotide sequence intervening between exons (coding regions) that is excised
from a gene transcript during RNA processing.
invariance - the property of a physical quantity or physical law of being unchanged by a
certain transformations or operations such as reflection of spatial coordinates, time reversal,
charge conjugation, rotations or Lorentz transformations.
inversion symmetry - the principle that laws of physics are unchanged by the operation of
inversion.
ionic bond - a type of chemical bonding of atoms in which one or more electrons are trans-
ferred completely from one atom to another, thus converting the neutral atoms into electrically
charged ions.
ionic crystal - a solid formed by ionic bonds between constituents.
ionization energy (of an atom) - the miniinum energy required to ionize the atom, starting
from its ground state.
ion laser - a laser in which the transition involved in stimulated emission of radiation takes
place between two energy levels in an ionized gas. One of the inert gases (argon, helium, neon,
or krypton) is used as the active medium. The device is shown schematically in Figure 49.
- 'etalon in oven enclosure mirror--
l out ut
i p m +

\ high reflector output coupler' "

Figure 49: Ion lascr.

The gases are electrically excited in a container called a plasma tube, which typically
consists of an alumina or ceramic envelope that is vacuum sealed at each end by either two
Rrewster windows or one Brewster window and one sealed cavity mirror. The optical cavity
is defined by a 100% -reflecting miri-or and a partially transmissive output coupling mirror.
It provides moderate to high continuous-wave output of typically 1 mW to 10 W. For single-
frequency operation, the high reflector is replaced with a Brewster prism, and an etalon is
inserted.
144 irradiance

irradiance - an energy per unit time crossing a unil area oriented normal to the propagation
direction. The term is usually applied to characterize light beams.
isodesmic structure - a crystal structure formed by ions in which there are no distinct
groups formed within the structure, i. e. where no bond is stronger than any other. See also
anisodesmic and mesodesmic structures.
isoelectronic atoms - atoms with the same number of valence electrons.
isoelectronic principle states that any two or more molecules which are isoelectronic will
have similar molecular orbitals. Molecules possessing the same number of electrons dis-
tributed over a similar molecular framework are isoelectronic.
isomorphic solids - solids, which crystallize with the same symmetry, with similar facial
development and closely similar values of the interfacial angles. Such solids often form mixed
compounds with one another.
isotope -one of two or more nuclides having the same atomic number, hence constituting the
samc element, but differing in mass number preferentially due to the difference in the content
of neutrons in their nuclei.
isotropy (of matter) - the same physical properties of a medium found in all directions. The
alternalivc is anisotropy.