A resist material and a nanofabrication method provide high-resolution
nanofabrication without an expensive irradiation apparatus using, for
example, electron beams or ion beams. That is, the resist material and
the nanofabrication method provide finer processing using exposure
apparatuses currently in use. A resist layer of an incompletely oxidized
transition metal such as W and Mo is selectively exposed and developed to
be patterned in a predetermined form. The incompletely oxidized
transition metal herein is a compound having an oxygen content slightly
deviated to a lower content from the stoichiometric oxygen content
corresponding to a possible valence of the transition metal. In other
words, the compound has an oxygen content lower than the stoichiometric
oxygen content corresponding to a possible valence of the transition
metal.