"Advances in nanotechnology are intimately linked to the existence of high-quality methods and tools for producing nanoscale patterns and objects on surfaces," said Dr Armin Knoll of IBM Research in Zurich.

"With its broad functionality and unique 3D patterning capability, this nanotip-based patterning methodology is a powerful tool for generating very small structures."

The equipment can fit on a tabletop and is cheaper and less complex to use than existing nanofabrication techologies such as electron beam lithography.

The nanotip is attached to a flexible cantilever that scans the surface of the substrate material with the accuracy of one nanometre -- a millionth of a millimetre.

By applying heat and force, the nanotip can remove substrate material based on predefined patterns -- operating like a 'nanomilling' machine with ultra-high precision.

Researchers focused on two types of substrate materials -- a polymer called polyphthalaldehyde and a molecular glass similar to substrates used in conventional nanofabrication techniques known as resists.

"The material was a 'make it or break it' issue," said Jim Hedrick of IBM Research in Almaden.

"We had to find and synthesise materials which form mechanically tough glasses and yet can be easily thermally decomposed into non-reactive volatile units."

The 22 by 11 micrometre world map was created in polyphthalaldehyde, originally developed by IBM Fellow Hiroshi Ito in the 1980s.

Exposed to high temperatures, the components of this chain-like organic molecule unzips and falls into volatile pieces.

A self-amplified reaction causes the molecule to decompose and thus accelerates the patterning process by outpacing the mechanical motion of the nanotip.

Potential applications for the technology range from the fast prototyping of nano-sized devices for computer chips to the production of micron-sized lenses and lens-arrays for the coming generation of optical computing devices.