Crafting at the nanoscale: A comprehensive review of mechanical Atomic force microscopy-based lithography methods and their evolution

In recent years, the scientific community's interest in nanoscience and nanotechnology stems from the increasing capability to manipulate matter at the nanoscale. Nanotechnology development is closely linked to fabricating and characterizing structures below 100 nm, driven by technological advancements enabling their in-depth analysis. Up to now, several top-down and bottom-up nanofabrication approaches have been developed to realize a plethora of nanostructures. Although effective, these methods have many drawbacks like high costs and limitations in feature size. In this scenario, Scanning Probe-based Lithography (SPL) emerges as a very promising alternative to conventional nanofabrication techniques, overcoming their main method limitations with versatility, flexibility, low cost, and nanoscale resolution. This review focuses on mechanical Scanning Probe-based Lithography (m-SPL), tracing its evolution from inception to recent advances. Different m-SPL methods, such as Nanoindentation, Static and Dynamic Plowing lithography, Nanomilling, and their variants are discussed in-depth, emphasizing their advantages and drawbacks, and highlighting their application. Moreover, this review explores the effects of combining m-SPL with other energy sources, such as heat and electric energy, and outlines future perspectives in the field. Overall, m-SPL stands out as a promising avenue in nanofabrication, offering sub-nanometer resolution and diverse material manipulation capabilities.