Massively parallel direct writing of nanoapertures using multi-optical probes and super-resolution near-fields

Changsu Park; Soobin Hwang; Donghyun Kim; Nahyun Won; Runjia Han; Seonghyeon Jeon; Wooyoung Shim; Jiseok Lim; Chulmin Joo; Shinill Kang

doi:10.1038/s41378-022-00416-9

Massively parallel direct writing of nanoapertures using multi-optical probes and super-resolution near-fields

Microsyst Nanoeng. 2022 Sep 15:8:101. doi: 10.1038/s41378-022-00416-9. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Changsu Park^#^{1

2}, Soobin Hwang^#^{1

2}, Donghyun Kim^{1

2}, Nahyun Won^{1

2}, Runjia Han^{1

2}, Seonghyeon Jeon^{1

2}, Wooyoung Shim³, Jiseok Lim⁴, Chulmin Joo^{1

2}, Shinill Kang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722 Korea.
² National Center for Optically-Assisted High Precision Mechanical Systems, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722 Korea.
³ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722 Korea.
⁴ School of Mechanical Engineering, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehak-ro, Gyeongsan, Gyungbuk 38541 South Korea.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Laser direct-writing enables micro and nanoscale patterning, and is thus widely used for cutting-edge research and industrial applications. Various nanolithography methods, such as near-field, plasmonic, and scanning-probe lithography, are gaining increasing attention because they enable fabrication of high-resolution nanopatterns that are much smaller than the wavelength of light. However, conventional methods are limited by low throughput and scalability, and tend to use electron beams or focused-ion beams to create nanostructures. In this study, we developed a procedure for massively parallel direct writing of nanoapertures using a multi-optical probe system and super-resolution near-fields. A glass micro-Fresnel zone plate array, which is an ultra-precision far-field optical system, was designed and fabricated as the multi-optical probe system. As a chalcogenide phase-change material (PCM), multiple layers of Sb₆₅Se₃₅ were used to generate the super-resolution near-field effect. A nanoaperture was fabricated through direct laser writing on a large-area (200 × 200 mm²) multi-layered PCM. A photoresist nanopattern was fabricated on an 8-inch wafer via near-field nanolithography using the developed nanoaperture and an i-line commercial exposure system. Unlike other methods, this technique allows high-throughput large-area nanolithography and overcomes the gap-control issue between the probe array and the patterning surface.

Keywords: Micro-optics; Optical materials and structures; Other nanotechnology.