Electron Beam Lithography at The Center For Nanotechnology

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Electron Beam Lithography at the Center for Nanotechnology

Electron Beam Lithography


Pattern Writing system capable of producing fine linewidths ~ 20nm. Scanning raster of E beam over resist coated substrate. First developed in 1960s using existing SEM technology.

Standard Lithography Uses


Maskmaking Chrome on quartz for high resolution optical lithography (1-2m) Direct Writing for fine structure IC design (<1m) Research Fine structure linewidths Contacts for Nanowires/rods Small feature array patterns

E-Beam

E beam lithography
Microfabrication
PMMA Chrome Quartz

Chrome Mask > 1 micron

Nanofabrication
>20 nm PMMA

System Interface
FEI Sirion Schottky Field Emission SEM: Lower saturation current Stable Beam DesignCAD vector drawing program Beam Blanking System Nanometer Pattern Generating System (NPGS)

System Interface

E beam writing breakdown


Series of interconnected points or dots. Beam Blanked. Distance between dots. Exposure Time ~ Energy Dose.

E beam Exposure
Pattern written as a series of interconnected dots with user adjustable spacings.

Polygon/Array of Dots

Multiple Pattern Arrays

Electron Beam Resist


Standard E beam resist at NUF: - 950k PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate). High resolution (~20nm). Thickness dependent on Spin RPM. Flexible Aspect Ratios controlled by concentration.

Controllable Film Thickness


950PMMA A Resist 3%
F ilm T h ic k n e s s (n m )

500 400 300 200 100 0


0 500 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Thickness Spin Curve

Spin Speed (RPM)

Sample Preparation
NUF houses all necessary equipment for sample preparation and development : 950k PMMA 1%, 3%, 6% in Anisole Spin Coater Pre/Postbake heat sources Developer solution (IPA:MIBK 3:1) Gold sputter coating

E beam Lithography Fundamentals


Beam Optimization. Users must demonstrate proficiency in high resolution imaging on Au standard. E beam lithography system parameters: 30 kV Accelerating Voltage Spot size 1 Working Distance = 6.5mm Measured Beam Current ~ 20pA

Beam Optimization
Demonstrate high resolution imaging (>100000x) on Gold standard sample. Beam Optimization: Lens Alignment Stigmation

Gold Standard Sample

Beam Optimized?
Improper Stigmation Adjustment

Beam Blanker
45 V applied to two parallel plates within beam path. Deflects beam, forcing the beam off axis. Beam position moves according to Center to Center distance as designated by the user.

Beam Blanker

From Design to Writing


Patterns are created in DesignCAD vector drawing program. Patterns may be imported to the DesignCad environment (DWG, DXF, WMF) . Interface with SEM using Nanometer Pattern Generating System (NPGS).

NPGS
Vector Writing Program User Specified Sweep Position Area Doses for filled Polygons Line Doses for high resolution line structures

NPGS Parameters
User defined parameters: Writing field magnification calculated by DesignCAD Center to Center Distance Measured Beam Current Energy of Dose Line Dose vs. Area Dose Controls exposure time

NPGS
Line Dose: Use for small scale, fine featured structures C->C spacing close ~100 Angstrom Low Energy Dose ~ 1.5 nC/cm Area Dose: Use for writing large scale C->C spacing close ~ 100 Angstrom High Energy Dose ~ 250 C/cm2

Fine Line Structure

Area Dose
Higher Energy Dose = Longer Exposure Time Used to Fill Polygons

Filled Polygons

Resolution
Contribution from Electron Substrate Collisions Forward Scattering Collisions off resist Backward Scattering Collisions off substrate Proximity Effect Secondary Electrons Dispersion of primary beam electrons Main contribution to exposed resist

Resolution

Contributing electrons at different Beam Accelerating Voltages.

Proper Beam Optimization

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