Electron Beam Lithography

• Patterning techniques

• The electron beam lithography

• Applications of the EBL

• Future oportunities for EBL

 Patterning Techniques

Criteriums about different techniques

Resolution
Speed
Easy fabrication
Cost
 Patterning Techniques

1.OPTICAL LITHOGRAPHY

a) Deep Ultarviolet Lithography

b) Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography
c) X Rays

2. NANOIMPRINT
 1) Optical Lithography

• Photoresistive resine

• Patterns: Masks

• Wavelenght
resolution dependant
 Resolution Limits
• Contact

Advantages:

●
Good resolution

Drawbacks:

●
Masks thin and flexible
●
Use ->defects
 Resolution Limits
• Proximity

Advantages:

●
Masks lifetime high

Drawbacks:

●
Resolution not as good
Gap ●
Diffraction
~ 20-50 μm
●
Fresnel diffraction
 Resolution Limits
• Projection

Advantages:

●
Good resolution
●
No deterioration
●
Image smaller than mask

Drawbacks:

●
Fraunhoffer diffraction
●
Compromise between resolution
and depth of focus
 b) Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography
• Small wavelenght
Better resolution

• No lences: mirrors

• Laser plasma
sources

• 10 nm
 c) X Ray
• < 1nm for Medical purposes

• Problems of masks
• Lences, mirrors

• Difficult to produce
 2) Nanoimprint
• 2 techniques:

Heat resine
Cool down

UV radiations
 Patterning Techniques
EUV soon in fabrication

Nanoimprint
E beam
for 22nm

X Rays
difficult
 The electron beam lithography
• Types of EBL
 Electron Beam Direct Write
 Electron Projection Lithography

Bragg-Fresnel lens for x-rays Paul Scherrer Institute

 Electron Beam Direct Write
• An electron gun or
electron source that
supplies the electrons.
• An electron column that
'shapes' and focuses the
electron beam.
• A mechanical stage that
positions the wafer
under the electron
beam.
• A wafer handling system
that automatically feeds
wafers to the system
and unloads them after
processing.
• A computer system that
controls the equipment.
 Electron Beam Direct Write
Types of electron guns
• Thermoionic
• Field emission

Write-field (WF)

Scanning methods
• Raster scan
• Vector scan

Raith 150 Manual (Nanostructure Physics Dept. KTH) Anders Liljeborg

Specifications, a real example
Raith150
• Beam size  ≤  2nm @
20 keV
• Beam energy 100eV -
30 keV
• Minimum line width
20 nm
• Import file format
GDSII, DXF, CIF,
ASCII, BMP
 Electron Projection
Electron Beam LithographyLimited throughput
Direct Write

Electron Projection Huge penetration

Lithography depth of electrons

• SCALPEL (Bell
Laboratories and
New solutions Lucent technologies)
1995
• PREVAIL (IBM) 1999
 Electron Projection
Lithography
• SCALPEL
– High contrast
– Image reduction

• PREVAIL
– Larger effective field
 Electron beam resists
1. Important parameters
2. Types of resist
3. Resist limitations
 EBL resists

Important parameters
 Resolution (nm)
 Sensitivity (C/cm^2)

Types of resist
• Positive resist
Polymethyl methacrylate
(PMMA)
• Negative resist

Recent progress in electron-beam resists for advanced mask-making by D.R.Medeiros, A.Aviram,

C.R.Guarnieri, W.S.Huang, R.Kwong, C.K.Magg, A.P.Mahorowala, W.M.Moreau, K.E.Petrillo, and M.Angelopoulos
 Resist limitations
• Tendency of the resist to swell in
the developer solution.

• Electron scattering within the

resist.
– Broadens the diameter of the incident
electron beam.
– Gives the resist unintended extra
doses of electron exposure .
 Applications of Electron Beam Lithography

• Research
- Nanopatterning on Nanoparticles
- Nanowires
- Nanopillars
- Gratings
- Micro Ring Resonators
- Nanofluidic Channels

• Industrial / Commercial
- Exposure Masks for Optical Lithography
- Writing features
 Nanopatterning on
• Significance nanoparticles
- Photonic Crystals
- Quantum Dots
- Waveguides

• Electron Beam Lithography

- Fine writing at moderate electron energies
- 37nm thick lines with 90nm periodicity
- 50nm diameter dots with 140nm periodicity

(2003), Patterning of porous Silicon by Electron Beam Lithography, S. Borini, A. M. Rossi, L. Boarino, G. Amato
 Nanowires
• Applications
- High-Density Electronics (Sensors, Gates in FETs)
- Molecular Electronics & Medical/Biological Applications

• EBL with Electrochemical size reduction

- High-Resolution Controlled Fabrication
- Widths approaching 10nm regime

• Patterning of Films of Gold Nanoclusters with Electron

Beam Direct Write Lithography
- Sub 50nm wide Nanowires
- Controlled thickness at single particle level

Controlled Fabrication of Silicon Nanowires by Electron beam lithography and Electro- chemical size
reduction (2005), Robert Juhasz, Niklas Elfstrom and Jan Linnros
Nanometer Scale Petterinng of Langmuir-Blodgett Films of Gold Nanoparticles by Electron Beam
Lithography (2001), Martinus H.V Werts, Mathieu Lambert, Jean-Philippe Bourgoin and Mathias Brush
 Nanopillars
• Significance
- Quantum Confinement Effects
- Photoconductive response in Nanopillar arrays

• EBL and Reactive Ion Etching

- Etched Pillars with 20nm diameter

Nanotechnology using Electron Beam Lithography, Center for Quantum Devices

 Gratings
• Applications
- Distributed Feedback Lasers
- Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers

• Continuous Path Control Writing using EBL

- Avoids stitching errors

Nanotechnology using Electron Beam Lithography, Center for Quantum Devices

•
Micro Ring Resonators
Applciations
- Optical Telecommunication and Networks

• EBL and Dry Etching

- 105 devices/cm2 density

Nanotechnology using Electron Beam Lithography, Center for Quantum Devices

•
Nanofluidic Channels
Significance
- Laboratory on a chip
- Single Molecule Detection

• Electron Beam Lithography

- Single step planar process
- Tubes with inner dimension of 80nm

(2005) A single-step process for making nanofluidic channels using electron beam lithography, J. L. Pearson
and D. R. S. Cumming
 Industrial Applications

• Exposure Masks for Optical Lithography using EBL

• Writing Features
 Some Applications of E-Beam
Lithography
• Cryo-electric devices
• Optoelectronic devices
• Quantum structures
• Multi-gate Devices
• Transport mechanism for semi and superconductor
interfaces
• Optical devices
• Magnetism
• Biological Applications
– Nano-MEMS
– Nanofluidics
Future opportunities for electron beam
lithography

1. Double gate FinFET devices

2. Single electron transistors
3. Photonic crystals
 Double gate FinFET devices - Concept
• Principle
Full control over a very
thin body region by two gates

• Fabrication thanks to e-beam

- Beam diameter smaller than 2nm
- Low energy (5 keV)
- High resolution organic resist
- Overlay accuracy thanks to scanning of registration marks
- Silicon etching

20 nm electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching for the fabrication of double gate FinFET
devices (2003), J. Kretz , L. Dreeskornfeld, J. Hartwich, W. Rosner
Nanoscale FinFETs for low power applications (2004), W. Rösner, E. Landgraf, J. Kretz, L. Dreeskornfeld, H.
Schäfer, M. Städele,T. Schulz, F. Hofmann, R.J. Luyken, M. Specht, J. Hartwich, W. Pamler, L. Risch
 Double gate FinFET devices –
Characteristics & Applications

• High performance devices

Transfer characteristic similar to
those obtained with bulk transistors
Appl: SRAM because high density
+ capability of driving a large bitline load

• Low power applications

High on-current, very low off-current

Nanoscale FinFETs for low power applications (2004), W. Rösner, E. Landgraf, J. Kretz, L. Dreeskornfeld, H.
Schäfer, M. Städele,T. Schulz, F. Hofmann, R.J. Luyken, M. Specht, J. Hartwich, W. Pamler, L. Risch
 Single electron transistor - Concept
• Physic principle
Weak external force to bring an additional
electron to a small conductor “island”
=> Repulsing electric field

• SET concept
- Down-scaling
- Low power consumption

• Difficulties
- Need of very small “islands” because
the addition energy must overload the
temperature effects

- Polarization in case of impurities

=> randomness background charge
Single-Electron Devices and Their Applications (1999), Konstantin K. Likharev
 Single electron transistor -
• Classic technique
Fabrication
Smallest “island” needed
=> Use of high resolution lithography technique
=> E-beam lithography

• With silicon nanowires

Lithography with e-beam, with specific beam current density and dose

Results: single electron charging effect

Polysilicon grain = “islands”
Grain boundaries = mini tunnel barriers

Fabrication of silicon nanowire structures based on proximity effects of electron-beam lithography

(2003), S.F. Hua, W.C. Wengb, Y.M. Wanb
 Single electron transistor -
•
Applications
Supersensitive electrometry
Very small change of gate voltage
=> measurable variation of I
Very useful for physical experiments

• Single electron spectroscopy NO !!!

• Replacing MosFET?

• Random access memory

- Bit stored in large conductive
island (floating gate)
- Need of a sense amplifier
=> association with FET amplifier
- Very impressive density: 1011 bit/cm
Single-Electron Devices and Their Applications (1999), Konstantin K. Likharev
 Photonic crystals - Concept
• Aim: propagation of light in a controllable
manner

• => Optical “chips” with waveguides,

cavities, mirrors, filters…
Example of very compact quantum
optical integrated circuit:

• Need of a dielectric or metallic lattice, with

adjustable parameters: geometry, dielectric
constant…
Three-dimensional photonic crystals operating at optical wavelength region (2000), Susumu Noda
 2D photonic crystals
• Creation of the desired lattice
- With e-beam lithography at low beam energy (5keV)
- Negative resist. Ex: SU8-2000, with high refractive index (1,69) and
good mechanical stability

• Results
A few mode are allowed to propagate, depending of the photonic crystal
parameters

Two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide obtained by e-beam direct writing of SU8-2000

photoresist (2004), M. De Vittorio, M.T. Todaro, T. Stomeo, R. Cingolani, D. Cojoc, E. Di Fabrizio
 3D photonic crystals
• Several methods to create the lattice
- Wafer-fusion and alignment
technique
Ex: Layers of III-V semiconductors (AlGaAs…)

- XRay and e-beam lithography

• Introduction of defect states, light emitting elements…)

By wafer-fusion, two-resist process…

Three-dimensional photonic crystals operating at optical wavelength region (2000), Susumu Noda
XRay and e-beam lithography of three dimensional array structures for photonics (2004), F. Romanato,
E. Di Fabrizio,M. Galli