A novel high-resolution sol-gel material for electron-beam lithography and direct writing of micro-optical elements is reported. A negative tone hybrid sol-gel material was synthesized and used for fabrication of submicrometer grating structures by electron-beam lithography. Doses from 10 to 100 mu C/cm(2) were able to crosslink the material and convert it into hybrid sol-gel glass. The sensitivity and the contrast of the material were found to be good with a linewidth of 0.5 mu m.