Abstract
Quantum lithography (QL) is a revolutionary approach to significantly increase the throughput and lower the cost of electron beam lithography in writing large-area masks with nanoscale features. A major challenge in QL is that its principle can be readily applied to positive- but not negative-tone QL. In fact, negative-tone QL, which is as indispensable as positive-tone QL in practical usage, has not been achieved. Here we propose a new method to overcome the obstacle, and report the first experimental demonstration of negative-tone QL. The new method uses a new type of nanoimprinted blank with the nanoscale tiles made of an aluminum/chromium bi-layer of metals, and a novel electrochemical process that removes only non-tagged quantized tiles of the new blank while keeping tagged ones. The demonstrated negative-tone QL has a 200nm pitch and 30nm gap and can be further scaled down to even smaller pitch sizes.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Article number | 355303 |
Journal | Nanotechnology |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 35 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 7 2012 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Chemistry
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering
- Bioengineering
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- General Materials Science