General Lab Information

Nikhil Tiwale

Nanofabrication Staff Scientist, Electronic Nanomaterials, Center for Functional Nanomaterials

Nikhil Tiwale

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Bldg. 735, Room 1021
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

(631) 344-3782
(631) 992-2814
 ntiwale@bnl.gov

Dr Nikhil Tiwale is Assistant Scientist (Research Staff 3) in the Electronic Nanomaterials Group at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) co-overseeing Cleanroom Nanofabrication facility. His research focuses on combining material nanostructuring with functional properties using semiconductor processing techniques. He is interested in advanced patterning material chemistry, atomic layer processing (ALP) including atomic layer deposition (ALD) and atomic layer etching (ALE) towards next-generation microelectronics, optoelectronics and photonics.

Expertise | Research | Education | Appointments | Publications | Highlights | Awards

Expertise

  • Micro/nanofabrication - Electron beam lithography (EBL), Photolithography, Laser direct writing
  • Atomic layer deposition (ALD) & vapor-phase infiltration (VPI)
  • Oxide/hybrid semiconductors & nanocomposits
  • Microelectronic & optoelectronic devices

Research Activities

Lithography-based nanopatterning & hybridization for enhancing materials & devices
  • Direct-write scalable processes for monolithic 3D integration (M3DI) of microelectronics, optoelectronics & photonics
  • Novel hybrid photoresist materials for next-generation nanolithography - EBL, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography and beyond
  • Ultrathin & geometry-driven nanoelectronics through atomic/molecular layer processing

Education

Ph.D., University of Cambridge, UK (2017)
B.Tech. + M.Tech., Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India (2012)

Professional Appointments

Center for Functional Nanomaterials | Brookhaven National Laboratory

01/2025 – Present        Assistant Scientist (Research Staff 3)
09/2022 – 12/2024       Research Staff 2
09/2021 – 08/2022       Scientific Associate
03/2018 – 09/2021       Research Associate

Adaptix Ltd

10/2017 – 03/2018        Silicon Process Engineer

Selected Publications

  • Chu TTH, Le DN, Lee M, et al (2026) Recent efforts of vapour-phase strategies for EUV resist toward high- and hyper-NA extreme ultraviolet lithography. Chemical Science 17:11754–11773. https://doi.org/10.1039/d6sc02112c
  • Wu X, Tiwale N, Stein A, Nam C-Y (2026) Integrated Strategies for Overcoming Resolution Limits in Electron Beam Lithography of Chemically Amplified Resists. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 18:10261–10269. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c18774
  • Chowdhury MI, Wu X, Lee W-I, et al (2026) Mechanism of Vapor-Phase Infiltration of Organometallic Hf in Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) for Hybrid Resist Applications. Chemistry of Materials 38:1715–1726. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.5c02369
  • Lee W-I, Le DN, Yen M, et al (2025) Molecular Layer Deposited Aluminum-Based Hybrid Resist for High-Resolution Nanolithography and Direct Ultra-High Aspect Ratio Pattern Transfer. Advanced Materials Technologies 11: https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.202501639
  • Li Z, Lee W-I, Tiwale N, et al (2026) Achieving ultrahigh modulus of resilience and enhanced thermal stability in ZnOx/SU-8 interpenetrating network polymernanocomposite nanopillars. Materials & Design 263:115577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2026.115577
  • Tiwale N, Subramanian A, Sikder S, et al (2026) Alumina Priming-Mediated Enhanced Binding of Diethylzinc with Carbonyl Groups in Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) during Vapor-Phase Infiltration. Chemistry of Materials 38:1751–1765. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.5c02584
  • Teng F, Zhang H, Nykypanchuk D, et al (2025) Macroscale-area patterning of three-dimensional DNA-programmable frameworks. Nature Communications 16:. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58422-0
  • Michelson A, Shani L, Kahn JS, et al (2025) Scalable fabrication of Chip-integrated 3D-nanostructured electronic devices via DNA-programmable assembly. Science Advances 11:. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adt5620
  • Le DN, Lee W-I, Hwang SM, et al (2025) In Situ Analysis of Electron-Induced Chemical Transformations in Vapor-Phase-Synthesized Al-Based Inorganic–Organic Hybrid Thin Films for EUV Resist Platform. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 17:18720–18730. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c19426
  • Le DN, Veyan J-F, Chu TTH, et al (2024) Electron-induced chemical transformation of vapor-phase synthesized hybrid resist materials for EUV and beyond EUV lithography. MRS Advances 10:341–346. https://doi.org/10.1557/s43580-024-01075-w
  • Saifullah MSM, Rajak AK, Hofhuis KA, et al (2024) Approaching Angstrom-Scale Resolution in Lithography Using Low-Molecular-Mass Resists (<500 Da). ACS Nano. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c03939
  • Lee W-I, Subramanian A, Kisslinger K, et al (2024) Effects of alumina priming on the electrical properties of ZnO nanostructures derived from vapor-phase infiltration into self-assembled block copolymer thin films. Materials Advances 5:5698–5708. https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ma00346b
  • Michelson A, Subramanian A, Kisslinger K, et al (2024) Three-dimensional nanoscale metal, metal oxide, and semiconductor frameworks through DNA-programmable assembly and templating. Science Advances 10:. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl0604
  • Camino FE, Tiwale N, Hwang S, et al (2023) Mitigating challenges in aberration-corrected electron-beam lithography on electron-opaque substrates. Nanotechnology 35:065301. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6528/ad0908
  • Subramanian A, Tiwale N, Lee W, et al (2023) Vapor-Phase Infiltrated Organic–Inorganic Positive-Tone Hybrid Photoresist for Extreme UV Lithography. Advanced Materials Interfaces 10:. https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202300420
  • Nowak SR, Tiwale N, Doerk GS, et al (2023) Responsive Blends of Block Copolymers Stabilize the Hexagonally Perforated Lamellae Morphology. Soft Matter. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3sm00142c
  • Li Z, He J, Subramanian A, et al (2023) Unraveling the ultrahigh modulus of resilience of Core-Shell SU-8 nanocomposite nanopillars fabricated by vapor-phase infiltration. Materials & Design 227:111770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2023.111770
  • Senanayak SP, Dey K, Shivanna R, et al (2023) Charge transport in mixed metal halide perovskite semiconductors. Nature Materials 22:216–224. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-022-01448-2
  • Russell ST, Bae S, Subramanian A, et al (2022) Priming self-assembly pathways by stacking block copolymers. Nature Communications 13:. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34729-0
  • Saifullah MSM, Tiwale N, Ganesan R (2022) Review of metal-containing resists in electron beam lithography: perspectives for extreme ultraviolet patterning. Journal of Micro/Nanopatterning, Materials, and Metrology 21:. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.jmm.21.4.041402
  • Subramanian A, Tiwale N, Kisslinger K, Nam C (2022) Reduced Stochastic Resistive Switching in Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Memristors by Vapor-Phase Infiltration. Advanced Electronic Materials 2200172. https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202200172
  • Dai Z, Gao Z, Pershoguba SS, et al (2021) Quantum-Well Bound States in Graphene Heterostructure Interfaces. Physical Review Letters 127:. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.127.086805
  • Tiwale N, Senanayak SP, Rubio-Lara J, et al (2021) Solution-Processed High-Performance ZnO Nano-FETs Fabricated with Direct-Write Electron-Beam-Lithography-Based Top-Down Route. Advanced Electronic Materials 7:2000978. https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202000978
  • Tiwale N, Subramanian A, Dai Z, et al (2020) Large mobility modulation in ultrathin amorphous titanium oxide transistors. Communications Materials 1:. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-020-00096-w
  • Subramanian A, Tiwale N, Doerk G, et al (2019) Enhanced Hybridization and Nanopatterning via Heated Liquid-Phase Infiltration into Self-Assembled Block Copolymer Thin Films. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 12:1444–1453. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.9b16148
  • Tiwale N, Subramanian A, Kisslinger K, et al (2019) Advancing next generation nanolithography with infiltration synthesis of hybrid nanocomposite resists. Journal of Materials Chemistry C 7:8803–8812. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9tc02974e
  • Tiwale N, Senanayak SP, Rubio-Lara J, et al (2019) Optimization of Transistor Characteristics and Charge Transport in Solution Processed ZnO Thin Films Grown from Zinc Neodecanoate. Electronic Materials Letters 15:702–711. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13391-019-00173-4

Research Highlights

Patents and records of inventions
  • “Substrates for Optical and Electron Microscopy of 2D Materials”, BNL Record of Invention, June 2021 | U.S. Patent 12463032, November 2025
  • “Metal-oxide infiltrated organic-inorganic hybrid resistive random-access memory devices”, BNL Record of Invention, June 2021 | U.S. Patent 12356877 B2, July 2025
  • “Inorganic-Infiltrated Polymer Hybrid Thin Film Resists for Advanced Lithography,” BNL Record of Invention, March 2019 | U.S. Patent 12140865 B2, November 2024
Media Coverage
Research Highlights

Awards & Recognition

  • Work included in Brookhaven's Top 10 Discoveries of 2024
  • Best poster award -2nd place at 2022 EUVL Workshop & Supplier Showcase (virtual)
  • SPIE Advanced Lithography + Patterning 2021 C. Grant Willson Best Paper Award
  • Work included in Top-10 Areas of Amazing Science at Brookhaven Lab, 2021
  • Top 100 entry in Create the Future 2020 Design Contest, Tech Brief Media Group, Dec. 2020
  • Winner of the Poster Presentation Session (NSLS-II and CFN Users' Meeting 2019)
  • Outstanding Oral Presentation Award (Early Career Research Symposium 2018)
  • Cambridge-India Partnership Scholarship by Cambridge Trusts, United Kingdom, 2012-15
  • National Talent Search Exam (NTSE) Scholarship, India, 2004
Nikhil Tiwale

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Bldg. 735, Room 1021
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

(631) 344-3782
(631) 992-2814
 ntiwale@bnl.gov

Nikhil's Links