5 E-Beam Nanolithography Integrated with Scanning Electron Microscope (original) (raw)

A simple electron-beam lithography system

Ultramicroscopy, 2005

A large number of applications of electron-beam lithography (EBL) systems in nanotechnology have been demonstrated in recent years. In this paper we present a simple and general-purpose EBL system constructed by insertion of an electrostatic deflector plate system at the electron-beam exit of the column of a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The system can easily be mounted on most standard SEM systems. The tested setup allows an area of up to about 50 Â 50 mm to be scanned, if the upper limit for acceptable reduction of the SEM resolution is set to 10 nm. We demonstrate how the EBL system can be used to write three-dimensional nanostructures by electron-beam deposition. r

50 years of electron beam lithography: Contributions from Jena (Germany)

Microelectronic Engineering, 2009

It is the aim of this paper to present an overview of 50 years of dedicated work on electron beam lithography and to highlight the contributions from Jena/Germany starting in the 1960's. Already in 1958, the forming of contamination layers was a well known, although unwanted in most cases, side effect in electron microscopy. Buck (D.A. Buck et al., in: Proc. Eastern Joint Computer Conf., 1959, pp. 55-59) from MIT intended to utilize this effect to create an etching mask for his vapor deposition layers. In the 1960's there was a huge interest in investigating and utilizing the advantages of electron beam lithography. This was the situation when the Jena group entered the community. A decade later, at the spring trade fair in Leipzig/Germany, the group presented a Gaussian beam lithography system (1977) as well as a variableshaped beam system (1978) to the world. Until now more than 100 tools have been manufactured and sold. A persistent analysis of and interaction with the customers' needs delivers a good feedback and ensures the permanent high quality of the state of the art lithography products. The group pioneered and shaped the development of e-beam systems with respect to specific aspects.

Multiple electron-beam lithography

Microelectronic Engineering, 2001

A number of multiple electron-beam approaches are currently under evaluation for sub-100-nm lithography. These approaches offer the potential of improving throughput for direct wafer writing and mask patterning and could have far reaching implications for the semiconductor industry. A brief review of important examples of these approaches are given with a discussion on throughput. The current status of two specific approaches, the microcolumn and the single column with a multiple electron-beam source (photocathode), are reported. In particular, a more detailed review of the recent advances in the microcolumn technology is presented.

E-beam lithography for micro-/nanofabrication

Electron beam lithography ͑EBL͒ is one of the tools of choice for writing microand nanostructures on a wide variety of materials. This is largely due to the fact that modern EBL machines are capable of writing nanometer-sized structures on areas up to mm 2 . The aim of this contribution is to give technical and practical backgrounds in this extremely flexible nanofabrication technique.

Direct-write Electron Beam Lithography: History and State of the Art

MRS Proceedings, 1999

Direct-write electron beam lithography is a patterning technique that has rapidly evolved over the last 40 years. For many years it has been possible to use electrons to pattern lines with widths as narrow as 10 rum. Recent advances in resist materials, electron sources, and system integration have further enhanced the capabilities. High-sensitivity resists provide substantial increases in the throughput without sacrificing resolution. Thermal field-emission sources improve the stability and reduce the minimum attainable spot size. Modem lithography systems integrate the electron beam column with advanced control electronics, making a system capable of nanometer-scale placement accuracy. In addition to these improvements, the technology is more accessible now than ever before, thanks to the proliferation of lithography systems consisting of modified scanning electron microscopes.

Low Voltage Electron Beam Lithography

1992

Center for Integrated Systems, JUN 2 1993 Stanford UniversityUD ' IIIi 1i IJII 11111 h~tli Jl IiI~ 11l)111 Stanford, Ca 94305. C The contract has three parts covering aspects of high precision electron beam lithography. (1) Comprehensive computer modeling of the electron beam tool. (2) Experimental determination of the properties of sources, columns, and targets, and (3) The use of silicon single crystals as straightness and orthogonality standards using orientation dependent etching techniques.

Electron optical column for a multicolumn, multibeam direct-write electron beam lithography system

Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures, 2000

Electron beam direct-write lithography systems are capable of meeting the resolution requirements of all future ITRS nodes and have a significant cost of ownership advantage over masked technologies, but these systems typically have very poor throughput due to space charge limitations. Ion Diagnostics has developed a multicolumn, multibeam (MϫM™) direct-write system that circumvents the space charge limitations by spreading the electron current over the wafer. The resulting lithography system can achieve critical dimensions of less than 100 nm with production throughputs greater than 60 wafers per hour, independent of wafer size. In this article we describe the electron optical column used in this system. We have developed a novel, microfabricated electron gun that produces 32 parallel electron beams that are individually controlled and blanked and contain deflectors that allow the gun optics to act as a perfect lens. Each column is 2 cm ϫ2 cm and can align and scan the 32 beams in parallel on the wafer. The wafer voltage is typically held at 50-100 kV, and backscattered electrons are collected for imaging and alignment information. Theoretical results and some performance results for a prototype column are presented.