Expanding the limits of Nanofabrication with Extreme Ultraviolet Light (original) (raw)

Development of a table top nanopatterning tool with Extreme Ultraviolet Lasers

In this nanoscale exploratory research (NER) project, we investigate the capabilities of a table top nanopatterning tool based on the illumination with compact extreme ultraviolet (EUV) laser sources. We pursue two different approaches consisting of interferometric lithography (IL) and de-magnifying imaging using diffractive optics. Main efforts were concentrated in the utilization of a 47 nm discharge pumped EUV laser. Preliminary tests were also performed using a high repetition rate laser at 13.2 nm.

Nanopatterning and Nanomachining with Table-Top Extreme Ultraviolet Lasers

Patterning of photo-resist was accomplished using a table top extreme ultraviolet (EUV) laser and an interferometric lithography set up. The high and controllable degree of coherence output of the recently developed EUV laser in Colorado State University was exploited in a Lloyd's mirror IL setup to pattern lines and arrays of nano-dots with period smaller than 100 nm in a polymethil metacrylate (PMMA) coated Si wafer. Multiple exposure in the same sample added versatility to the patterning method allowing different motifs. Also, using the high peak power of the EUV laser, ablation of sub-100 nm holes in PMMA was also demonstrated. The smallest diameter ablated holes, 82 nm, were obtained by placing the sample at the third order focus of a Fresnell zone plate (FZP) lens. These results demonstrate the feasibility of sub-100 nm patterning of materials with a focused EUV laser beams, opening a path for the development of new nanoprobes and nanomachining tools.

Table top nanopatterning with extreme ultraviolet laser illumination

Patterning with extreme ultraviolet light generated by a compact, bright laser source operating at a wavelength of 46.9 nm is demonstrated using two complementary approaches: multiple beam interferometric lithography and de-magnifying projection. Features with sizes ranging from 370 nm to 60 nm were printed in a few seconds in poly-methyl methacrylate resist. These proof-of-principle experiments demonstrate practical table-top nanopatterning tools based on extreme ultraviolet lasers for nanotechnology applications.

Nanopatterning in a compact setup using table top extreme ultraviolet lasers

The recent development of table top extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lasers have enabled new applications that so far were restricted to the use of large facilities. These compact sources bring now to the laboratory environment the capabilities that will allow a broader application of techniques related to nanotechnology and nanofabrication. In this paper we review the advances in the utilization of EUV lasers in nanopatterning. In particular we show results of the nanopatterning using a table-top capillary discharge laser producing 0.12-mJ laser pulses with 1.2-ns time duration at a wavelength l = 46.9 nm. The nanopatterning was realized by interferometric lithography using a Lloyd's mirror interferometer. Two standard photoresists were used in this work, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ). Pillars with a full width half maximum (FWHM) diameter of 60 nm and holes with FWHM diameter of 130 nm were obtained over areas in excess of 500×500 µm 2 . Opto-Electron. Rev., 16, no. 4, 2008 P.W. Wachulak 445 Fig. 1. Schematic description of the interference lithography technique used in nanopatterning.

Extreme ultraviolet lithography with table top lasers

Progress in Quantum Electronics, 2010

Compact extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lasers with ''table top'' footprints which can be easily installed in a small laboratory environment, had enabled in the last years applications that so far had been restricted to large synchrotron facilities. The high brightness and degree of coherence of these laser sources make them a good alternative for applications where a coherent illumination is required. One of these applications is nano-photolithography realized by interferometric or ''holographic'' lithography. This paper describes the advances and capabilities of compact photolithographic systems based on ''table top'' EUV lasers.

Nanopatterning With Interferometric Lithography Using a Compact = 46:9-nm Laser

—We report the imprinting of nanometer-scale gratings by interferometric lithography at = 46 9 nm using an Ne-like Ar capillary discharge laser. Gratings with periods as small as 55 nm were imprinted on poly-methyl methacrylate using a Lloyd's mirror interferometer. This first demonstration of nanopatterning using an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) laser illustrates the potential of compact EUV lasers in nanotechnology applications.

Extreme ultraviolet lithography based nanofabrication using a bilevel photoresist

Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena, 2004

We describe the use and characterization of a bilevel photoresist for extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL). The bilevel photoresist consists of a combination of a commercially available polydimethylglutarimide (PMGI) bottom layer and an experimental EUVL photoresist top (imaging) layer. We measure the sensitivity of PMGI to EUV exposure dose as a function of photoresist prebake temperature, and using this data, optimize a metal liftoff process. Reliable fabrication of 700 Å thick Au structures with sub-1000 Å critical dimensions is achieved, even without the use of a Au adhesion layer, such as Ti. Using the bilevel photoresist process, we fabricate an electrode array test structure, designed for electrical characterization of molecules and nanocrystals.

Interferometric lithography with an amplitude division interferometer and a desktop extreme ultraviolet laser

Journal of the Optical Society of America B, 2008

We demonstrate a compact interferometric lithography nanopatterning tool based on an amplitude division interferometer (ADI) and a 46.9 nm wavelength desktop size capillary discharge laser. The system is designed to print arrays of lines, holes, and dots with sizes below 100 nm on high resolution photoresists for the fabrication of arrays of nanostructures with physical and biological applications. The future combination of this ADI with high repetition rate tabletop lasers operating at shorter wavelengths should allow the printing of arrays of sub-10 nm size features with a tabletop setup.

Nanopatterning with interferometric lithography using a compact λ=46.9-nm laser

IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology, 2006

We report the imprinting of nanometer-scale gratings by interferometric lithography at = 46 9 nm using an Ne-like Ar capillary discharge laser. Gratings with periods as small as 55 nm were imprinted on poly-methyl methacrylate using a Lloyd's mirror interferometer. This first demonstration of nanopatterning using an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) laser illustrates the potential of compact EUV lasers in nanotechnology applications.

Extreme ultraviolet holographic lithography with a table-top laser

Proceedings of Spie the International Society For Optical Engineering, 2009

We report the demonstration of Extreme Ultraviolet Holographic Lithography - EUV-HL - using a compact table top extreme ultraviolet laser. The image of the computer-generated hologram (CGH) of a test pattern was projected on the surface of a sample coated with a high resolution photoresist. Features with a 140 nm pixel size were printed using for the reconstruction a highly coherent table top 46.9 nm extreme ultraviolet laser. We have demonstrated that the combination of a coherent EUV source with a nanofabricated CGH template allows for the extension of nanolithography in an extremely simple set up that requires no optics. The reconstructed image of CGH was digitized with an atomic force microscope, yielding to reconstructions that are in excellent agreement with the numerical predictions.