Significance Chirality, a fundamental geometric property ubiquitous in nature, confers upon matter the ability to interact asymmetrically with circularly polarized light, manifesting as unique optical responses such as circular dichroism (CD) and optical rotation. These properties render chiral structures highly promising for applications in biochemical sensing, optical field manipulation, quantum information, and enantiomer separation. However, conventional fabrication methods relying on mechanical engraving or chemical synthesis face inherent limitations including weak chiroptical responses, low design freedom for geometric configurations, and challenges in scalable production. Recent advancements in nanofabrication technologies, particularly electron beam lithography (EBL), focused ion beam (FIB), and direct laser writing (LDW), have provided revolutionary means for the precise and customized construction of artificial chiral micro/nanostructures. These techniques, characterized by high resolution, excellent programmability, and three-dimensional manufacturing capabilities, are powerfully driving the transition of chiral photonics from fundamental research to functional device applications.

Progress This review systematically summarized fabrication strategies and recent research progress for chiral structures based on these mainstream nanofabrication technologies. For electron beam lithography, the research focus has shifted from mature two-dimensional planar chiral arrays (e.g., swastika-shaped structures) to more challenging quasi-three-dimensional architectures. Innovative processes such as multi-layer alignment, utilization of proximity effects, and exposure on non-planar substrates successfully realized complex chiral metasurfaces featuring multilayer stacking and suspended bridging, significantly enhancing optical chiral responses (e.g., CD values exceeding 20°). Focused ion beam technology, leveraging its integrated capabilities for milling, deposition, and imaging, demonstrated unique advantages in direct forming of 3D chiral structures. Fabrication of asymmetric aperture arrays via tilted scanning achieved tunable CD transmittance up to 78%. Combined with the "nano-kirigami" technique, FIB induced controllable buckling and twisting of 2D thin films, constructing dynamic 3D biomimetic cilium structures with strong chiroptical responses (g-factor reaching 0.8). Direct laser writing, especially based on two-photon polymerization, excelled in the freeform fabrication of complex 3D chiral architectures. This technique efficiently produced various 3D chiral models including helices, vortices, and petal-like structures. Integration with functional materials like semiconductor quantum dots and liquid crystal elastomers enabled the fusion of chirality with properties such as photoluminescence and stimulus-responsiveness, expanding functional dimensions. Recent breakthroughs, such as the "3D Pin" technique, further broadened material choices by enabling direct printing of chiral structures from high-purity inorganic semiconductors.

Conclusions and prospects  These precisely tailored chiral structures demonstrated remarkable performance across several cutting-edge application domains. In sensing, chiral metasurfaces based on materials like magnesium hydride and silicon achieved high-sensitivity, real-time detection of parameters such as hydrogen concentration and pressure through changes in their chiroptical signals. For optical modulation, mechanisms like photoinduced carrier excitation enabled dynamic and reversible switching of chiroptical responses (e.g., the sign of CD), laying groundwork for reconfigurable photonic devices. In light absorption and particle separation, designed chiral metamaterials achieved efficient selective absorption of specific circularly polarized light and generated chirality-dependent optical gradient forces at the nanoscale, offering novel principle-based solutions for high-efficiency separation of chiral particles below 10 nm. It indicate that nanofabrication technologies have become the core driver for the design and manufacturing of artificial chiral structures. Future research in this field will concentrate on several directions: At the process level, continuous pursuit of higher resolution, efficiency, lower cost, and development of multi-material and heterogeneous integration strategies is essential. Regarding structural design, exploration of more complex multi-level chiral, dynamically reconfigurable, and intelligently responsive architectures is needed. For applications, promoting chiral micro/nanodevices towards broader interdisciplinary fields such as on-chip integrated systems, biocompatible sensing platforms, and quantum light source manipulation is crucial. With the deepening integration of nanofabrication technologies with materials science, photonics, and life sciences, high-performance, multifunctional, and integrated chiral micro/nanodevices will undoubtedly inject new vitality into the future development of information, energy, and health technologies.