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Encyclopedia > Nanolithography

Nanolithography — or lithography at the nanometer scale — refers to the fabrication of nanometer-scale structures, meaning patterns with at least one lateral dimension between the size of an individual atom and approximately 100 nm. Nanolithography is used during the fabrication of leading-edge semiconductor integrated circuits or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). Lithography is a method for printing on a smooth surface. ... A nanometre (American spelling: nanometer) is 1. ... An integrated circuit (IC) is a thin chip consisting of at least two interconnected semiconductor devices, mainly transistors, as well as passive components like resistors. ... NEMS or nanoelectromechanical systems are similar to MEMS but smaller. ...


As of 2006, nanolithography is a very active area of research in academia and in industry.

Contents


Optical lithography

Optical lithography, which has been the predominant patterning technique since the advent of the semiconductor age, is capable of producing sub-100-nm patterns with the use of very short wavelengths (currently 193 nm). Optical lithography will require the use of liquid immersion and a host of photomask enhancement technologies (phase-shift masks (PSM), optical proximity correction (OPC)) at the 32 nm node. Most experts feel that traditional optical lithography techniques will not be cost effective below 30 nm. At that point, it may be replaced by a next-generation lithography (NGL) technique. In photolithography, immersion lithography is a resolution enhancement technique that interposes a liquid medium between the optics and the wafer surface, replacing the usual air gap. ... As used in photolithography, a photomask is typically a transparent fused quartz blank covered with a pattern defined with chrome metal as the absorbing film. ... Phase shift masks utilize the interference, generated by phase differences, and is one of the resolution enhancement techniques. ... Optical proximity correction (OPC) is a photolithography enhancement technique commonly used to compensate for image errors due to diffraction or process effects. ... X-ray Lithography is a next generation lithography that has been developed for the semiconductor industry. ...


Other nanolithography techniques

  • Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV) is a form of optical lithography using ultrashort wavelengths (13.5 nm). It is the most popularly considered NGL technique.
  • Charged-particle lithography, such as ion- or electron-projection lithographies (PREVAIL, SCALPEL, LEEPL), are also capable of very-high-resolution patterning.
  • The furthest developed NGL remains X-ray lithography which is extensible to 15 nm resolution by use of "demagnification" in the Near Field.

// Conventional electron-beam lithography The practice of using a beam of electrons to generate patterns on a surface is known as Electron beam lithography. ... Photoresist is a light sensitive material used in several industrial processes, such as photolithography and photoengraving to form a patterned coating on a surface. ... Structure of PMMA: (C5O2H8)n Structure of methyl methacrylate Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or polymethyl-2-methylpropanoate is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate. ... Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (also known as EUV or EUVL) is a Next-Generation Lithography technology capable of creating nanometer-scale patterns for use in semiconductor processing. ... Nanoimprint lithography is a novel method of fabricating nanometer scale patterns. ... Nanoimprint lithography is a novel method of fabricating nanometer scale patterns. ... Contact lithography, also known as contact printing, is a form of photolithography whereby the image to be printed is obtained by illumination of a photomask in direct contact with a substrate coated with an imaging photoresist layer. ... Image of substitutional Cr impurities (small bumps) in the Fe(001) surface. ... DPN is the nanotechnology analog of (and named after) the dip pen (also named quill pen). ... The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a very powerful microscope invented by Binnig, Quate and Gerber in 1985. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Bottom-up Methods

It is possible that self-assembly methods will take over as the primary nanolithography approach, due to ever-increasing complexity of the top-down approaches listed above. Self-assembly of dense lines less than 20 nm wide in large pre-patterned trenches has been demonstrated (see e.g., D. Sundrani et. al., Langmuir, vol. 20, 5091-5099 (2004)). The degree of dimension and orientation control as well as prevention of lamella merging still need to be addressed for this to be an effective patterning technique. The important issue of line edge roughness is also highlighted by this technique. Self-assembly is the fundamental principle which generates structural organization on all scales from molecules to galaxies. ...


See also

Nanoimprint lithography is a novel method of fabricating nanometer scale patterns. ... Contact lithography, also known as contact printing, is a form of photolithography whereby the image to be printed is obtained by illumination of a photomask in direct contact with a substrate coated with an imaging photoresist layer. ... Photolithography is a process used in semiconductor device fabrication to transfer a pattern from a photomask (also called reticle) to the surface of a substrate. ... In technology, soft lithography refers to a set of methods for fabricating or replicating structures using elastomeric stamps, molds, and conformable photomasks (in the words of Rogers and Nuzzo, p. ... In photolithography, immersion lithography is a resolution enhancement technique that interposes a liquid medium between the optics and the wafer surface, replacing the usual air gap. ... The Spanish football league is called La Liga. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Nanolithography - nCyclopedia (424 words)
Nanolithography — or lithography at the nanometer scale — refers to the fabrication of nanometer-scale structures, meaning patterns with at least one lateral dimension between the size of an individual atom and approximately 100 nm.
Nanolithography is used during the fabrication of leading-edge semiconductor integrated circuits or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS).
As of 2006, nanolithography is a very active area of research in academia and in industry.
Nanolithography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (439 words)
Nanolithography or lithography at the nanometer scale — refers to the fabrication of nanometer-scale structures, meaning patterns with at least one lateral dimension between the size of an individual atom and approximately 100 nm.
Nanolithography is used during the fabrication of leading-edge semiconductor integrated circuits or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS).
As of 2006, nanolithography is a very active area of research in academia and in industry.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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