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Abstract
Industrial end-users are currently discouraged from expanding their nanotechnology-related business activities by either unacceptably high costs or the impossibility to control production processes on a nanometric scale. There are mainly three lithography technologies available for direct structure of nano features: ion beam lithography, electron beam lithography and scanning probe lithography. All of them are using a time consuming sequential writing strategy, which requires high mechanical and electrical stability of the system. Both high costs and low efficient throughput discourage industrial end-users from expanding their nanotechnology-related activities. Laser interference lithography (LIL) will play a key role in realising the full potential of interference nanolithography by combining optical technology, ICT and micro/nano-technology, as current nanofabrication tools are limited to archaic, slow processing rates, or do not achieve a competitive cost-effective strategy. It is the aim of LIL to empower laser interference nanolithography technology with a clear focus on industrial use, and to drive the rapid development of nano-science leading to new processes and immediate industrial exploitation. The main advantageous features of the LIL technology in fabrication of nano structures and devices are high resolution compared with other optical technologies, and low cost and high efficiency compared with other beam technologies.
By using the LIL technology, we achieved 40 nm nano-patterns and 10 nm self-organized nano-features on semiconductor materials.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work was financed by the European Project ”°Development of lithography technology for nanoscale structuring of materials using laser beam interference (DELILA)”±. The support of the European Community is gratefully acknowledged. |