Success in the fabrication of structures at the nanometer length scale has opened up a new horizon to condensed matter physics: the study of quantum phenomena in confined boxes, wires, rings, etc. A new class of electronic devices based on this physics has been proposed, with the promise of a new functionality for ultrafast and/or ultradense electronic circuits. Such applications demand highly sophisticated fabrication techniques, the crucial one being lithography.
Nanolithography contains updated reviews by major experts on the well established techniques -- electron beam lithography (EBL), X-ray lithography (XRL), ion beam lithography (IBL) -- as well as on emergent techniques, such as scanning tunnelling lithography (STL).