Patent ID: 8652339

Claim:
A method for fabricating a patterned thin film on a substrate, comprising: preparing a sample by depositing a multi-layer structure of material on the substrate, the multi-layer structure including a bottom layer disposed adjacent the substrate and a top layer disposed on an upper surface of the bottom layer, a thickness of the bottom layer being substantially greater than a thickness of the thin film to be deposited on the sample, the multi-layer materials being configured to not substantially intermix with each other or with the substrate at a thin film deposition temperature; depositing a photoresist on an upper surface of the top layer of the multi-layer structure; patterning the photoresist to expose the multi-layer material in a desired pattern; anisotropically etching the exposed multi-layer material to expose the substrate in the desired pattern, the bottom layer of the multi-layer being removed during the etching at a higher rate than other layers in the multi-layer structure so as to form an undercut in the bottom layer, the other layers forming an overhang over a portion of the substrate defined by the undercut, a total thickness of the other layers being sufficient to ensure rigidity of the overhang; removing the photoresist; blanket depositing a thin film on the sample, the thin film forming a feature on the substrate only on the portion of the substrate defined by the desired pattern; and removing the multi-layer structure from the substrate, leaving only the thin film feature on the substrate.