Bismuth thin films were grown on oxidized Si substrates by electron beam evaporation. The films showed clear tendency to form hillocks inducing large surface roughness. The evolution of hillocks with film thickness and deposition rate was studied. In order to improve the surface quality of the Bi films a nanoscale mechanical polishing was performed. Upon polishing. hillocks-free Bi thin films were obtained without influencing the crystalline structure and the resistivity of the films. The achieved film surface quality allows to prepare high quality Bi Hall probes with an active area down to the nm(2) range promising for advanced device performance. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.