Fabrication of metallic or non-metallic wires with nanometer widths and
nanometer separation distances without the use of lithography. Wires are
created in a two-step process involving forming the wires at the desired
dimensions and transferring them to a planar substrate. The dimensions
and separation of the wires are determined by the thicknesses of
alternating layers of different materials that are in the form of a
superlattice. Wires are created by evaporating the desired material onto
the superlattice that has been selectively etched to provide height
contrast between layers. The wires thus formed upon one set of
superlattice layers are then transferred to a substrate.