Optimization of near-field scanning optical lithography

This article describes two- and three-dimensional optical simulations for determining optimal conditions for near-field scanning optical lithography. It was found that a combination of 30-nm thick photoresist and 50-nm thick anti-reflective coating will yield optimal results with 405 nm incident light and a hollow-cantilever probe with 100-nm aperture width. In addition to identifying the optimal conditions, the sensitivity of the resolution with respect to each parameter is explored and plotted. The mechanisms behind each trend are described with supporting simulation data.

[1]  M. Majewski,et al.  Optical properties of metallic films for vertical-cavity optoelectronic devices. , 1998, Applied optics.

[2]  J. Holdsworth,et al.  Development of a multi-wavelength photocurrent mapping system , 2013 .

[3]  F. Abelès,et al.  Temperature dependence of the dielectric function of silicon using in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry , 1993 .

[4]  Lukas Novotny,et al.  Facts and artifacts in near-field optical microscopy , 1997 .

[5]  Tow Chong Chong,et al.  Sub-30 nm lithography with near-field scanning optical microscope combined with femtosecond laser , 2005 .

[6]  D. P. Fromm,et al.  Toward nanometer-scale optical photolithography: utilizing the near-field of bowtie optical nanoantennas. , 2006, Nano letters.

[7]  Artium Khatchatouriants,et al.  Near-field optics: from subwavelength illumination to nanometric shadowing , 2003, Nature Biotechnology.

[8]  Domenico Pacifici,et al.  Plasmonic nanostructure design for efficient light coupling into solar cells. , 2008, Nano letters.

[9]  Near-field scanning optical microscopy studies of thin film surfaces and interfaces , 2008 .

[10]  Louise R. Giam,et al.  Beam pen lithography. , 2010, Nature nanotechnology.

[11]  Andrew J. Fleming,et al.  Design, Modeling and Control of Nanopositioning Systems , 2014 .

[12]  Andrew J Fleming,et al.  Compact ultra-fast vertical nanopositioner for improving scanning probe microscope scan speed. , 2011, The Review of scientific instruments.

[13]  Shinji Wakamoto,et al.  Immersion lithography extension to sub-10nm nodes with multiple patterning , 2014, Advanced Lithography.

[14]  A. Fleming,et al.  Bridging the gap between conventional and video-speed scanning probe microscopes. , 2010, Ultramicroscopy.