Submicrometer resolution

The use of optical Hthography for submicrometer resolutions has been extended by developments such as phase-shift Hthography (35). A... 

The pursuit of further miniaturization of electronic circuits has made submicrometer resolution Hthography a cmcial element in future computer engineering. LB films have long been considered potential candidates for resist appHcations, because conventional spin-coated photoresist materials have large pinhole densities and variations of thickness. In contrast, LB films are two-dimensional, layered, crystalline soHds that provide high control of film thickness and are impermeable to plasma down to a thickness of 40 nm (46). The electron beam polymerization of CO-tricosenoic acid monolayers has been mentioned. Another monomeric amphiphile used in an attempt to develop electron-beam-resist materials is a-octadecylacryUc acid (8). 

Brominated poly(l-trimethylsilylpropyne) is an example of a substituted polyacetylene that is suitable for bilevel-resist processes (34). Requiring both exposure and postexposure bake (PEB) steps, samples of the polypropyne having a mole fraction of bromine from 0.1 to 0.2 per monomer unit exhibit sensitivities in the order of 25 mj/cm. Submicrometer resolution has been demonstrated, and etching-rate ratios relative to hard-baked photoresist planarizing layers are —1 25. 

The main advantage of the direct mode approach originates from the submicrometer distance that the tip is held close to and above the substrate. Calculations, as well as experimental results, indicate that the electrical field between the tip and the substrate is relatively focused, which results in submicrometer resolution of the fabricated patterns. The resolution is also a function of the ionically conducting matrix (in the case where a noninsulated STM tip is used) as well as the shape of the tip and its lateral speed. 

Microcontact Printing of Macromolecules with Submicrometer Resolution by Means of Polyolefin Stamps... 

M. Cavallini, P. Mei, E Biscarini, and R. Garcia, Parallel writing by local oxidation nanolithography with submicrometer resolution, Appl. Phys. Lett, 83, 5286-5288 (2003). 

When the SECM-AFM experiments are performed in solution, the electrochemical imaging with submicrometer resolution is more demanding in the tip preparation and insulation steps as a micron- or submicron-sized electrode should be incorporated in the AFM probe. The tips used to image molecular transport across membrane were either hand-fabricated etched, flattened, and insulated Pt microwires or a metal-coated rather than insulator-coated conventional AFM tip redesigned by focused ion beam. - ... 

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