Direct laser writing commonly uses high numerical objective oil lens and femtosecond lasers to realize high precision micro-nano fabrication. Here we report a simple maskless lithography system utilizing a controllably designed high NA planar diffractive lens based on binary amplitude modulation and a diode laser at 405nm wavelength to realize submicron far-field lithography. The design procedure is based on vectorial Rayleigh-Sommerfeld diffraction integrals and genetic algorithm realized by Matlab programming language. The planar diffractive lens reported here can be designed to produce a tightly focused spot (~300-800nm) with an ultra-long depth of focus(~4μm) at a focal length of 1mm.
The high-speed photodetector represented by uni-traveling-carrier photodiode is developing towards a higher bandwidth design. The high-bandwidth design will be constrained by the reduced responsivity of the device. Plasmonic photodetectors, due to their ability to confine light at the surface of the metal, can perform light-matter interaction with absorbing materials on a deep subwavelength scale, which providing a new design direction for higher speed photodetectors. We report a high-speed photodetector design that combines uni-traveling-carrier photodiode and plasmonic resonance to achieve a two-fold improvement in device responsivity. The results reveal that plasmonic uni-traveling-carrier photodiode is a potential choice for high-speed photodetector design.
Electroluminescence based on inelastic tunnelling has been investigated for many years in scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and plasmonic antenna platforms. Here, we report an electrically excited nanosource with a bowtieshaped tunnel junction that has achieved an output power. The tunnel junction in our experiments is formed via an electromigration (EM) process. The benefits of our new structural design include higher tunnel currents, ultra-strong electrical field enhancement and a higher Purcell factor. By varying the geometric parameters of the plasmonic antenna, the energies of these LSP modes can be tuned for different confinement lengths.
KEYWORDS: Near field, Lithography, Optical lithography, Photomasks, Silicon, Near field optics, Ion beams, Finite-difference time-domain method, Photoresist materials, Chromium
Near filed optical lithography has been a promising alternative to photolithography for its high resolution, low cost and high throughput. Bowtie aperture, one type of nanoscale ridge aperture, is widely used in near filed optical lithography. However, the bowtie structure milled by focused ion beam (FIB) usually suffers from non-vertical sidewall with taper and rounded corner due to Gaussian ion beam profile and redeposition effects. Here, we report a novel method to fabricate bowtie aperture with sub-15 nm gap, producing highly confined electric near-field by localized surface plasmon (LSP) excitation and nanofocusing of the closely tapered gap. Utilizing a passive flexure stage for contact control, we present our recent lithography results with a record 20 nm resolution (FWHM).
A unique design method of two cascaded diffractive optical elements (DOEs) with different sizes of effective phase region to modulate broadband beam is presented with consideration of single production material and low relief height on DOE. The iterative algorithm to calculate the relief heights on these DOEs is introduced at first. Where after, a broadband beam at wavelength from 500nm to 600nm propagates through the designed DOEs and is focused on the target plane in the simulation part. The shaping results demonstrate the excellent shaping ability of this unique design method. The shaping system proposed in this paper is significant for nonmonochromatic light modulation and has many applications such as graphic encryption, three-dimensional color display and multi wavelength division multiplexing.
Photolithography has been one of the most important technologies in modern society, especially in semiconductor industry. However, due to the limitation of optical diffraction, this technique becomes more and more complex and expensive. In this paper, we experimentally study two promising techniques, near-field scanning optical lithography and nanoimprint lithography, which both have been proved to be alternatives to photolithography, and achieve sub-wavelength resolution. Taking advantage of bowtie apertures, near-field scanning optical lithography can achieve high resolution beyond the Rayleigh diffractive limit. Here, we report a novel method to fabricate bowtie aperture with sub-15 nm gap, producing highly confined electric near-field by localized surface plasmon (LSP) excitation and nanofocusing of the closely tapered gap, and obtain lithography results with 21 nm resolution (FWHM).We also develop a new plate-to-roll nanoimprint lithography (P2RNIL). Compared with plate-to-plate nanoimprint lithography (P2PNIL) and roll-to-plate nanoimprint lithography (R2PNIL), it avoids cylinder template fabrication in P2RNIL and significantly improves the productivity in P2PNIL. Our P2RNIL system can realize large-area nanoimprint continuously with high resolution and high speed.
KEYWORDS: Lithography, Near field, Optical lithography, Image quality, Photomasks, Finite-difference time-domain method, Photoresist materials, Near field optics, Nanolithography, 3D modeling
Nanoscale ridge apertures have been demonstrated to be applied for high-resolution lithography. We performed a numerical study of nanoscale bowtie apertures with different outline dimensions and gap sizes to analyze their detailed field distribution for near-field scanning optical lithography (NSOL). It is found that the high image contrast, which is necessary for good quality lithography, is obtained in the near-field region and decays quickly with increasing distance. Furthermore, a smaller gap size achieves higher image contrast and deeper depth of focus. With the NSOL system, static and scanning lithography experiments are conducted. Combined with the passive flexure stage for contact control, we achieved 18-nm lithography resolution.
EUV technology has steadily progressed over the years including the introduction of a pre-production NXE:3100 scanner that has enabled EUV process development to advance one step closer to production. We have carried out the integration with 20/14nm metal layer design rules converting double patterning with ArF immersion process to EUV with a single patterning solution utilizing a NXE3100 exposure tool. The exercise through the integration of a mature test chip with an EUV level has allowed us to have early assessment of the process challenges and new workflow required to enable EUV to the mass production stage. Utilizing the NXE3100 in IMEC, we have developed an OPC model and a lithography process to support 20/14nm node EUV wafer integration of a metal layer in conjunction with immersion ArF. This allows early assessment of mix-and-match overlay for EUV to immersion system that is critical for EUV insertion strategy as well as further understanding of the litho process, OPC, and mask defect control specific to EUV single patterning. Through this work we have demonstrated high wafer yields on a 20nm test vehicle utilizing single EUV Metal layer along with additional ArF immersion levels. We were able to successfully demonstrate low mask defectivity and good via chain and open/short electrical yield. This paper summarize the learning cycles from mask defect mitigation and mix machine overlay through post metal CMP wafer integration highlighting the key accomplishments and future challenges.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.