Two-dimensional hard masks push three-dimensional patterning

Subjects Electronic devicesTwo-dimensional materials Ultrathin van der Waals metal oxyhalides act as robust hard masks for three-dimensional semiconductor processing. Their exceptional plasma resistance and unique plasma-induced smoothing enable high-aspect-ratio etching and precise nanopatterning of various materials. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution Access options Access through your institution Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $32.99 / 30 days cancel any time Learn more Subscribe to this journal Receive 12 print issues and online access $259.00 per year only $21.58 per issue Learn more Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from$1.95 to$39.95 Learn more Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Fig. 1: Crystal structure and high-aspect-ratio etching performance of vdW metal oxyhalides. ReferencesHoang, J. et al. Enabling merged 3D NAND memory hole and interlayer dielectric (ILD) contact etches with deposition and etch co-optimization (DECO). In Proc. 2025 IEEE International Memory Workshop https://doi.org/10.1109/IMW61990.2025.11026958 (IEEE, 2025).Venkatram, P. et al. Nat. Mater. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02524-7 (2026).Article PubMed Google Scholar Banerjee, R. et al. Nanoscale 17, 5472–5480 (2025).Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar Nguyen, V. T. H. et al. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 39, 032201 (2021).Article Google Scholar Ha, D. et al. 3D stacked FET (3DSFET) logic and SRAM technology featuring single diffusion break (SDB) and back side interconnect (BSI) at 48 nm CPP for advanced mobile and high performance computing (HPC) applications. In 2025 Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits https://doi.org/10.23919/VLSITechnologyandCir65189.2025.11074874 (IEEE, 2025).Ahn, S. J. et al. Future technology outlook on DRAM/flash memories for more Moore and more than Moore. In 2025 IEEE International Memory Workshop https://doi.org/10.1109/IMW61990.2025.11026954 (IEEE, 2025).Download referencesAcknowledgementsThis work is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (RS-2023-NR077272, RS-2025-23323230) and the BK21 FOUR Program of the Education and Research Program for Future ICT Pioneers (2026).Author informationAuthors and AffiliationsDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, KoreaJihoon Chang & Chul-Ho LeeInter-university Semiconductor Research Center (ISRC), Seoul National University, Seoul, KoreaJihoon Chang & Chul-Ho LeeMemory Business, Samsung Electronics, Hwaseong, KoreaJihoon ChangAuthorsJihoon ChangView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarChul-Ho LeeView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarCorresponding authorCorrespondence to Chul-Ho Lee.Ethics declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Rights and permissionsReprints and permissionsAbout this articleCite this articleChang, J., Lee, CH. Two-dimensional hard masks push three-dimensional patterning. Nat. Mater. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02571-0Download citationPublished: 16 April 2026Version of record: 16 April 2026DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02571-0Share this articleAnyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:Get shareable linkSorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.Copy shareable link to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Two-dimensional crystalline hard masks for high-aspect-ratio nanofabrication Pranavram VenkatramZiheng ChenSaptarshi Das Nature Materials Article 10 Mar 2026