DOCSLIB.ORG

Extreme Ultraviolet Interference Lithography at the Paul Scherrer Institut

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Extreme Ultraviolet Interference Lithography at the Paul Scherrer Institut J. Micro/Nanolith. MEMS MOEMS 8͑2͒, 021204 ͑Apr–Jun 2009͒ Extreme ultraviolet interference lithography at the Paul Scherrer Institut Vaida Auzelyte Harun H. Solak Christian Dais Paul Scherrer Institut Patrick Farquet Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology and Paul Scherrer Institut Eulitha AG Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology Villigen 5232, Switzerland Villigen 5232, Switzerland E-mail: [email protected] Abstract. We review the performance and applications of an extreme ultraviolet interference lithography ͑EUV-IL͒ sys- tem built at the Swiss Light Source of the Paul Scherrer Detlev Grützmacher ͑ ͒ Institute of Bio- and Nanosystems 1 Institut Villigen, Switzerland . The interferometer uses fully coherent radiation from an undulator source. 1-D ͑line/ Research Center of Jülich ͒ ͑ ͒ 52425 Jülich, Germany space and 2-D dot/hole arrays patterns are obtained with a transmission-diffraction-grating type of interferometer. Features with sizes in the range from one micrometer down to the 10-nm scale can be printed in a variety of resists. The Laura J. Heyderman Feng Luo highest resolution of 11-nm half-pitch line/space patterns ob- Paul Scherrer Institut tained with this method represents a current record for pho- Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology ton based lithography. Thanks to the excellent performance Villigen 5232, Switzerland of the system in terms of pattern resolution, uniformity, size of the patterned area, and the throughput, the system has been used in numerous applications. Here we demonstrate the versatility and effectiveness of this emerging nanolithog- Sven Olliges raphy method through a review of some of the applications, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ͑ETH͒ Zurich namely, fabrication of metallic and magnetic nanodevice Laboratory for Nanometallurgy components, self-assembly of Si/Ge quantum dots, chemi- Department of Materials cal patterning of self-assembled monolayers ͑SAM͒, and ra- Wolfgang-Pauli-Strausse 10 diation grafting of polymers. © 2009 Society of Photo-Optical Instru- Zurich, CH-8093, Switzerland mentation Engineers. ͓DOI: 10.1117/1.3116559͔ Subject terms: nanolithography; extreme ultraviolet; interference Celestino Padeste lithography; metal nanowire; quantum dot; magnetic nanostructure; Pratap K. Sahoo self-assembled monolayer; polymer grafting. Paul Scherrer Institut Paper 08163SSR received Oct. 26, 2008; revised manuscript re- Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology ceived Feb. 5, 2009; accepted for publication Mar. 2, 2009; pub- Villigen 5232, Switzerland lished online Apr. 27, 2009. Tom Thomson University of Manchester Oxford Road 1 Introduction School of Computer Science Extreme ultraviolet interference lithography ͑EUV-IL͒ is a Kilburn Building newly emerging nanolithography method that combines the Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom advantages of a parallel fabrication process with high res- olution. These features make it an attractive tool for re- searchers who are increasingly in need of a nanopatterning Andrey Turchanin University of Bielefeld capability that is beyond what is available from other meth- Faculty of Physics ods such as photolithography, electron beam lithography Physics of Supermolecular Systems ͑EBL͒, and scanning probe lithography, in terms of reso- D-33615 Bielefeld, Germany lution or throughput. After early interference lithography experiments performed in the vacuum UV1 and EUV regions,2 dedicated EUV-IL tools have been set up using Christian David synchrotron3,4 and laser sources.5 Such tools using plasma- Paul Scherrer Institut based EUV sources are also being considered.6 Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology In most reported EUV-IL work, the wavelength of Villigen 5232, Switzerland choice has been 13.4 nm. The reason behind this choice is manifold. First, the possible next-generation EUV lithogra- phy ͑EUVL͒ technology7 that is being developed for fabri- cation of future semiconductor devices uses this wave- length. The EUV-IL method has played an important role in 1932-5150/2009/$25.00 © 2009 SPIE the development of high-resolution resists for this technol- J. Micro/Nanolith. MEMS MOEMS 021204-1 Apr–Jun 2009/Vol. 8͑2͒ Auzelyte et al.: Extreme ultraviolet interference lithography at the Paul Scherrer Institut ogy by making high-resolution exposures available long before EUV projection tools become available.8,9 Second, it is relatively easy to fabricate diffraction gratings with suf- ficiently high diffraction and transmission efficiency at this wavelength on silicon nitride membranes. Finally, the short inelastic mean free path of photoelectrons created by EUV photons in a resist at this energy ͑92.5 eV͒ means that the blurring effect of photoelectrons will be insignificant down to sub-10 nm resolution. Of course, we should also mention that this wavelength allows an ultimate half-pitch ͑hp͒ res- olution of below 4 nm, which can be as small as a quarter of the wavelength ͑␭͒: Fig. 1 The interference schemes of two- and four-grating designs to ␭ expose line and hole/dot patterns, respectively. hp = , 4 sin͑␪/2͒ where ␪ is the angle between two diffracted beams. and the beamline optics, as well as the top-up mode of Several different EUV-IL schemes have been realized or operation of the SLS storage ring. With the typical flux of proposed. A Lloyd’s mirror interferometer, which is a 20 to 50 mW/cm2, dot and line patterns in polymethyl wavefront division method, was used to expose linear grat- methacrylate ͑PMMA͒ resist can be exposed within 10 sec. ings and 2-D patterns in a double exposure scheme.5,10,11 The beam is switched on and off by a fast mechanical shut- Amplitude division interferometers, one involving beam- ter placed in front of the exposure chamber. Substrates splitter gratings with two recombining mirrors12 and an- ranging from several square centimeters chips up to other that has two cascaded gratings,13 were also recently 200 mm wafers can be exposed. demonstrated. The EUV-IL system at the Paul Scherrer In- The basic interference scheme that is used at the PSI stitut ͑PSI͒ in Villigen, Switzerland,4 whose application is system is illustrated in Fig. 1. The spatially coherent inci- the subject of this review, uses a diffraction-grating-based dent beam is diffracted by linear gratings that are patterned wavefront division scheme.2,3 We describe this scheme in on a single, partially transparent membrane. The resulting more detail in the following section. In addition to two and mutually coherent beams interfere at a certain distance multiple beam interference methods, a holographic ap- along the beam direction. The interference fringes are used proach was also demonstrated.3 to expose a pattern in a resist film. The schemes in Fig. 1 create periodic patterns that have half the period of the interferometer grating. The size and shape of each exposure 2 Extreme Ultraviolet Interference Lithography pattern is the same as the size and shape of the grating. System at the Paul Scherrer Institut Pairs of diffraction gratings with different periods can be The EUV-IL system at the XIL beamline of the Swiss Light placed on a single mask and the resulting pattern printed Source ͑SLS͒ uses light that is generated by a 42-pole un- simultaneously in one exposure step. In this way, patterns dulator with a 212 mm period, which is inserted into the from the micrometer down to the nanometer scale can be 2.4 GeV electron storage ring. The SLS, as a third genera- created in a single exposure in EUV-IL. tion synchrotron, is constructed to provide a spatially co- Two linear gratings are used to create lines, while hole/ herent beam for photon energies of up to about 100 eV, dot patterns can be made in one exposure step by the inter- 15 thanks to the small size and divergence of the electron ference of three or more diffracted beams ͑Fig. 1͒. More beam.14 The spatial coherence is essential for the basic complex structures such as rings and crosses can be made 16 wavefront division interference scheme that is used at this by eight-beam interference. Depending on the design of beamline. The temporal/longitudinal coherence of the light the mask, the relation between the period of the diffraction emanating from the source is related to the spectral band- gratings and the fringe pattern varies. For example, in a width ⌬␭/␭. For an undulator, this is related to the number four-beam scheme, demagnification factors of 2 or ͱ2 ͑in of magnetic poles, which translates to a rather large spectral terms of pattern period͒ are obtained depending on the rela- width of about 2.5% for our source. To get a narrower tive phases of the interfering beams.16 This demagnification bandwidth, the beam can be filtered using a monochro- factor is very helpful for the mask fabrication. For example, mator. However, this leads to a significant loss of photon 200 nm period gratings written on a mask will expose flux. The diffraction-grating-based interference schemes 100 nm period lines on the sample. Examples of two- and described next are achromatic. Therefore in most experi- four-beam masks mounted on stainless steel rings are ments the interferometric exposures are performed using shown in Fig. 2. The masks are prepared using electron the full bandwidth of the undulator radiation without addi- beam lithography ͑EBL͒ and reactive ion etching pattern tional spectral filtering. However, the beam is filtered by a transfer processes on 100-nm Si3N4 membranes coated pinhole to guarantee full spatial coherence at the interfer- with a thin Cr film.17 The gratings are written in a resist ometer. The resulting beam at the interferometer has a with EBL and later etched into the Cr film. The thickness of width of about 3 to 5 mm ͓full width at half maximum the grating metal layer, the grating duty cycle, and the ma- ͑FWHM͔͒, which depends on the diameter of the pinhole terial ͑e.g., Cr͒ determine the EUV diffraction efficiency. used for spatial filtering.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 2 Laser Interference Lithography (Lil) 9
    2 LASER INTERFERENCE LITHOGRAPHY (LIL) 9 2 LASER INTERFERENCE LITHOGRAPHY (LIL) Laser interference lithography [3~22] (LIL) is a method to produce periodic structures using two interfering highly-coherent light beams. Typically, light from a source is divided and recombined, forming a periodic intensity pattern that can be recorded by the exposure of a photosensitive substrate. The primary focus of this thesis has been the setting up of a Lloyd’s-Mirror Interferometer. In this chapter, the fundamentals of laser interference lithography will be introduced step by step: The description of the basic theory of LIL, can be found in section 2.1; the working principle of the “Lloyd’s-Mirror Interferometer” and the whole optical setup are introduced in section 2.2; the preparation of the substrates before lithographic exposures and the design of the resist stack for LIL are explained in section 2.3; the aspects of the exposure process are discussed in section 2.4; finally, the structural transfer from the soft resist into a hard substrate by means of reactive ion etching (RIE) and wet chemical etching will be discussed in section 2.5. 2.1 BASIC THEORY: INTERFERENCE OF TWO BEAMS Figure 1: Thomas Young and a laser interference setup adopted from his famous experiment. Thomas Young (1773-1829), first demonstrated the interference of light in 1801 (Figure 1). [23,24] His famous interference experiment gave strong support to the wave theory of 2 LASER INTERFERENCE LITHOGRAPHY (LIL) 10 light. This experiment (diagramed above) shows interference fringes created when a coherent light source is shining through double slits.
    [Show full text]
  • Towards the Ultimate Resolution in Photolithography
    Towards the ultimate resolution in photolithography Yasin Ekinci Paul Scherrer Institute 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland E-mail: [email protected] Optical lithography has been the driving force of semiconductor device manufacturing for the past 50 years, due to its high throughput, yield, and scalability. As feature sizes shrink and device density increases, predicted and guided by Moore’s Law, new lithography methods are needed to increase the resolution. Currently, optical patterning approaches such as multiple patterning and DUV immersion are reaching their technological and physical limits. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography at the wavelength of 13.5 nm is the most promising candidate for the future technology nodes [1-2]. Much research has been done on efficient optics, sources, and photoresists for this wavelength. An important tool in this respect is interference lithography (EUV-IL), which is able to pattern features at single digit nm resolution, enabling research for the timely development of EUV resists. Lithographic pattern resolution is ultimately limited by the wavelength of light used. By decreasing the wavelength down to 13.5 nm, the theoretical patterning limit becomes 3.4 nm. Using EUV light, the XIL-II beamline at the Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, is able to pattern features down to 6 nm half-pitch [3-5]. Spatially coherent light with 4% bandwidth from a synchrotron undulator source is incident upon a transmission mask. The mask is composed of diffraction gratings made of metal or inorganic photoresist and a zeroth order photon stop, supported on a silicon nitride membrane. The diffracted beams from the mask then interfere to produce a sinusoidal areal image, which can then be recorded in a photoresist.
    [Show full text]
  • Nanolithography Activity in the Group: BG Group and AKR Group Has Extensive Activities in the Area of Nanolithography
    Nanolithography activity in the group: BG group and AKR group has extensive activities in the area of nanolithography. The work is done in a Clean room of the centre which has been established with support from the Nanomission Projects. The clean room is class 10,000 class room which is maintained at class 1000 in specific areas. The facilities in the clean room allow optical lithography, electron beam lithography (EBL) and focused ion beam (FIB) lithography. Visit of the Honourable Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth rd Science to the Bose Centre Clean room on 3 May, 2015 (Standing in front of Helios machine, 2nd from left ) One of the activities that is carried out on a routine basis is to integrate sub- 100nm nanowire of any material produced by bottom-up approach like chemical route or physical/chemical vapour deposition to a single nanowire device connected to 2 or 4 probes. Integrating the rich materials base of bottom-up approach with nano-lithograhic process is regularly done . For attaching nanowires to prefabricated contact pads for opt-electronic or electronic measurements in addition to EBL –lift off, FIB or Focused electron beam deposited metals (Pt or W) are also used. The group has done extensive work in the area of interface physics. Cross-sectional lamella using ion-beam lithographic technique is done on regular basis. WO 3/Pt/Si 30 µµµm TEM Lamella preparation of a nanowire grown Omni probe lifting off the sample on substrate using Ion-beam lithography Interface analysis of X-TEM Specimen: Partially/non aligned NWs- Interface cross section c Ankita Ghatak, Samik Roy Moulik Barnali Ghosh, RSC Adv.
    [Show full text]
  • Laser Interference Lithography
    In: Lithography: Principles, Processes and Materials ISBN: 978-1-61761-837-6 Editor: Theodore C. Hennessy, pp. 133-148 © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. The exclusive license for this PDF is limited to personal printing only. No part of this digital document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted commercially in any form or by any means. The publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this digital document, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained herein. This digital document is sold with the clear understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, medical or any other professional services. Chapter 5 LASER INTERFERENCE LITHOGRAPHY Henk van Wolferen and Leon Abelmann MESA+ Research Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands ABSTRACT In this chapter we explain how submicron gratings can be prepared by Laser Interference Lithography (LIL). In this maskless lithography technique, the standing wave pattern that exists at the intersection of two coherent laser beams is used to expose a photosensitive layer. We show how to build the basic setup, with special attention for the optical aspects. The pros and cons of different types of resist as well as the limitations and errors of the setup are discussed. The bottleneck in Laser Interference Lithography is the presence of internal reflection in the photo-resist layer. These reflections can be reduced by the use of antireflection coatings.
    [Show full text]
  • Bilayer, Nanoimprint Lithography Brian Faircloth Nuvonyx, Inc., Bridgeton, Missouri 63044 Henry Rohrs Washington University, St
    Bilayer, nanoimprint lithography Brian Faircloth Nuvonyx, Inc., Bridgeton, Missouri 63044 Henry Rohrs Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130 Richard Tiberio Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 Rodney Ruoff Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130 Robert R. Krchnaveka) Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey 08028 ͑Received 3 May 1999; accepted 21 April 2000͒ Nanoimprint lithography has been shown to be a viable means of patterning polymer films in the sub-100 nm range. In this work, we demonstrate the use of a bilayer resist to facilitate the metal liftoff step in imprinter fabrication. The bilayer resist technology exhibits more uniform patterns and fewer missing features than similar metal nanoparticle arrays fabricated with single layer resist. The bilayer resist relies upon the differential solubility between poly͑methyl methacrylate͒ and poly͑methyl methacrylate methacrylic acid copolymer͒. Evidence is presented that shows the technique has a resolution of better than 10 nm. © 2000 American Vacuum Society. ͓S0734-211X͑00͒03104-8͔ I. INTRODUCTION tion demonstrated in the polymer resist layer. The formation of patterned metal layers is one application. Finely patterned Due to the inevitable transition from the microelectronic metal layers are used as interconnects in integrated circuits. to the nanoelectronic age, the demand for sub-100 nm fea- They can also be used as catalysts for subsequent layer ture sizes in lithographic techniques will increase greatly. As growth. If the subsequent metal layers cannot readily be current devices rapidly approach the 100 nm barrier, the mi- etched, e.g., due to crystalline dependent etching rates, an croelectronics industry is considering several technologies to additive approach such as liftoff is desirable.
    [Show full text]
  • Extreme Ultraviolet Interference Lithography with Incoherent Light
    Extreme ultraviolet interference lithography with incoherent light Patrick P. Naulleau,1 Christopher N. Anderson,2 and Stephen F. Horne 3 1 Center for X-Ray Optics, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 2 Applied Science & Technology Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 3 Energetiq Technology Inc., Woburn, MA 01801 ABSTRACT In order to address the crucial problem of high-resolution low line-edge roughness resist for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, researchers require significant levels of access to high-resolution EUV exposure tools. The prohibitively high cost of such tools, even microfield tools, has greatly limited this availability and arguably hindered progress in the area of EUV resists. To address this problem, we propose the development of a new interference lithography tool capable of working with standalone incoherent EUV sources. Although EUV interference lithography tools are currently in operation, presently used designs require illumination with a high degree of spatial and/or temporal coherence. This, in practice, limits current systems to being implemented at synchrotron facilities greatly restricting the accessibility of such systems. Here we describe an EUV interference lithography system design capable of overcoming the coherence limitations, allowing standalone high-power broad sources to be used without the need for excessive spatial or temporal filtering. Such a system provides promising pathway for the commercialization of EUV interference lithography tools. Keywords: extreme ultraviolet, lithography, interferometry, coherence 1. INTRODUCTION One of the largest challenges facing the commercialization of EUV lithography [1] is the development of high resolution EUV resists. Progress in this area has been hampered in large part due to the scarcity in availability of high-resolution EUV tools.
    [Show full text]
  • Electron Beam Lithography for Nanofabrication
    Departament de Física, Facultat de Ciències Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona January 2008 ElectronElectron beambeam lithographylithography forfor NanofabricationNanofabrication PhD Thesis by Gemma Rius Suñé Directed by Francesc Pérez-Murano and Joan Bausells Institut de Microelectrònica de Barcelona -------------------------------------------- The cover image corresponds to a PMMA residual found after the stripping of the resist layer. Even though it seems a new planet, it is 1µm in diameter. -------------------------------------------- This memory reflects part of the work performed at the Nanofabrication Laboratory of the IMB–CNM during the past 5 years, based on Electron Beam Lithography (EBL). Nanofabrication is a very active area of research, as can be noticed from the number of publications that appear continuously and from the number of running R&D projects. Most of the work is realized in the framework of three European research projects. Novopoly project deals with the development of new polymer materials for applications in micro and nano systems. The development of a new EBL resist is framed in this project. Within NaPa, Emerging Nanopatterning methods, the development of NEMS fabrication with EBL is used to realise discrete nanomechanical devices. They are used to characterize the performance of resonating nanostructures and signal enhancement is achieved by their integration in CMOS circuits. The aim of Charpan is the development of a new patterning tool based on several charged particle species. The incidence of charged particle beams on devices is studied to evaluate potential effects induced during fabrication. Carbon nanotube (CNT) based devices contribute to some tasks of national projects Crenatun and Sensonat. In particular, the technology for fabrication of high performance CNT field-effect transistors and their preparation for sensing applications is established.
    [Show full text]
  • Interference Lithography
    Interference Lithography Personnel M. Walsh, J. M. Carter, R. C. Fleming, T. A. Savas, M. L. Schattenburg, and H. I. Smith Sponsorship DARPA and ARO Interference lithography (IL) is the preferred method for satellite applications, gratings produced with this tool fabricating periodic and quasi-periodic patterns that have flown on numerous missions, most notably the must be spatially coherent over large areas. IL is a con- Chandra x-ray astronomy satellite launched in August ceptually simple process where two coherent beams of 1999, which included hundreds of matched, high- interfere to produce a standing wave, which can be precision gratings. recorded in a photoresist. The spatial-period of the grat- ing can be as fine as half the wavelength of the interfer- We operate another system similar to the one shown in ing light, allowing for structures on the order of 100nm Figure 26 based on the 325 nm line of a HeCd laser. This from UV wavelengths, and features as small as 30-40 system functions both as an exposure tool with capabili- nm using a deep UV ArF laser. ties comparable to those described above as well as an analysis tool. Using a technique known as Holographic The NanoStructures Lab has been developing IL tech- Phase-Shifting Interferometry (HPSI), the linearity and nology for close to 30 years. We currently operate 4 dif- spatial phase of gratings produced in this system can be ferent IL systems for a wide variety of applications. One quantitatively measured and mapped with an accuracy system, shown schematically in Figure 26, is run in on the order of parts per million.
    [Show full text]
  • Fabrication of Photonic Nanostructures for Light Harvesting in Solar Cells
    Fabrication of photonic nanostructures for light harvesting in solar cells by Amalraj Peter Amalathas BSc (Hons) with First Class in Physics, University of Jaffna A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Canterbury Christchurch, New Zealand May 2017 Dedicated to my father, mother, sisters, and brothers for their love, endless support and encouragement. i Abstract Reducing optical losses in the solar cells has always been a key challenge in enhancing the power conversion efficiency of the solar cells without increasing significantly the cost. In order to enhance the power conversion efficiency of the solar cells, a number of light trapping schemes have been investigated to manipulate the light inside the absorber layer and to increase the effective optical path length of the light within the absorber layer of a solar cell. In this work, periodic nanopyramid structures were utilized as the light trapping nanostructures in order to improve the performance of the solar cells using low cost maskless laser interference lithography (LIL) and UV nanoimprint lithography (UV- NIL). In addition, a superhydrophobic property of the nanopyramids was explored to add a self-cleaning functionality to the front encapsulation. Firstly, the inverted nanopyramid structures were fabricated on Si substrate by laser interference lithography and subsequent pattern transfer by combined reactive ion etching and KOH wet etching. Maskless LIL was employed as a high-throughput, high resolution and low cost for the fabrication of large scale periodic nanostructures. The periodic inverted nanopyramid structures on a silicon substrate were used as a master mold substrate for the imprint process.
    [Show full text]
  • Pattern-Integrated Interference Lithography
    PATTERN-INTEGRATED INTERFERENCE LITHOGRAPHY: SINGLE-EXPOSURE FORMATION OF PHOTONIC-CRYSTAL LATTICES WITH INTEGRATED FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS A Thesis Presented to The Academic Faculty by Guy Matthew Burrow In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology August 2012 PATTERN-INTEGRATED INTERFERENCE LITHOGRAPHY: SINGLE-EXPOSURE FORMATION OF PHOTONIC-CRYSTAL LATTICES WITH INTEGRATED FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS Approved by: Professor Thomas K. Gaylord, Advisor Professor Muhannad S. Bakir School of Electrical and Computer School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Institute of Technology Professor Miroslav M. Begovic Dr. Donald D. Davis School of Electrical and Computer School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Institute of Technology Professor Zhuomin Zhang Date Approved: 29 May 2012 School of Mechanical Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Over the course of nearly three years at Georgia Tech, numerous people have impacted my life and proven instrumental to the research presented in this thesis. It is with great appreciation and humility that I acknowledge their support and contributions. First and foremost, I want to express my sincere thanks to my advisor, Professor Thomas K. Gaylord. I am grateful to have had the chance to learn and develop under his expert guidance. Having served for more than 20 years in the Army, I have found no better example of a true professional. Thank you, sir, for being such a great mentor and leader to us all. I would also like to recognize the other members of my thesis committee: Professor Muhannad S.
    [Show full text]
  • Large-Area Nanoimprint Lithography and Applications
    Chapter 3 Large-Area Nanoimprint Lithography and Applications Hongbo Lan Additional information is available at the end of the chapter http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72860 Abstract Large-area nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has been regarded as one of the most prom- ising micro/nano-manufacturing technologies for mass production of large-area micro/ nanoscale patterns and complex 3D structures and high aspect ratio features with low cost, high throughput, and high resolution. That opens the door and paves the way for many commercial applications not previously conceptualized or economically feasible. Great progresses in large-area nanoimprint lithography have been achieved in recent years. This chapter mainly presents a comprehensive review of recent advances in large- area NIL processes. Some promising solutions of large-area NIL and emerging methods, which can implement mass production of micro-and nanostructures over large areas on various substrates or surfaces, are described in detail. Moreover, numerous industrial- level applications and innovative products based on large-area NIL are also demon- strated. Finally, prospects, challenges, and future directions for industrial scale large- area NIL are addressed. An infrastructure of large-area nanoimprint lithography is proposed. In addition, some recent progresses and research activities in large-area NIL suitable for high volume manufacturing environments from our Labs are also intro- duced. This chapter may provide a reference and direction for the further explorations and studies of large-area micro/nanopatterning technologies. Keywords: large-area nanoimprint lithography, large-area micro/nanopatterning, full wafer NIL, roller-type NIL, roll-to-plate NIL, roll-to-roll NIL 1.
    [Show full text]
  • A Solid Immersion Interference Lithography System for Imaging
    A Solid Immersion Interference Lithography System for Imaging Ultra-High Numerical Apertures with High-Aspect Ratios in Photoresist using Resonant Enhancement from Effective Gain Media Prateek Mehrotra1,**, Chris A. Mack2, Richard J. Blaikie1,* 1The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand 2Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX *Current Address: Department of Physics, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand ABSTRACT In the last year our Solid Immersion Lloyd’s Mirror Interference Lithography (SILMIL) system has proved to be a successful tool for evanescent interferometric lithography (EIL). The initial goal was to use SILMIL in conjunction with the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) surface states at the resist-metal interface. Through this resonance, we aimed to counter the decay of evanescent images created using EIL. By analyzing the theory in greater detail we were able to develop a better understanding of the resonance phenomena. In this paper, details of the design of SILMIL and how one may utilize it to produce ultra-high numerical apertures (NAs) are given, as well as an introduction to the resonance phenomena and the mechanism behind it. We introduce a new method that requires a gain medium (one that has a negative loss) to achieve significant enhancements, and present an effective gain medium by using a high-index dielectric on low-index media. We present results at λ = 405 nm using such an effective gain medium and also provide a feasible design example at the lithography standard λ = 193 nm.
    [Show full text]