By Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication
Electron Beam Lithography (EBL) allows users to write patterns with extremely high resolution, smaller than 10nm in size. It makes use of a highly energetic, tightly focused electron beam, which is scanned over a sample coated with an electron-sensitive resist. The electron beam scans the image according to a pattern defined on a CAD file. The sample is then developed in an appropriate solvent which reveals the structures defined into the resist. This acts as a mold for subsequent pattern transfer techniques such as dry etching or metal lift-off. Due to the high-resolution nature of the technique, EBL has a vast range of applications including, but not limited to, nano-electronics, photonics, plasmonics, nano-fluidics, MEMS, x-ray and neutron optics. MCN’s EBL tool is the Raith EBPG5000plusES, the only one of its kind in Australia. The tool is capable of writing four and six inch masks and wafers with a resolution of up to 10nm. It features 100kV acceleration voltage, automated aperture change and operation, 1mm main field size and <20nm accuracy.
