Dipole nano-antennas have predominantly been investigated in their lateral orientation with their long axes in plane with a supporting substrate. However, the response of coupled dipole antennas oriented vertically to a supporting substrate has so far been out of experimental reach. Here, we present a self-aligned electron-beam lithography technique for fabricating such antennas consisting of metal nanostructures on both sides of a suspended silicon nitride membrane. This 30 nm thick membrane provides an ultra-smooth metal/dielectric interface and uniformly defines the antenna feed-gap size in an array of antennas. It is also a suitable substrate for probing the nano-antenna response with monochromated electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) in a transmission electron microscope. We provide details of this double-sided patterning process, and show the excitation of hybridized plasmon modes in EELS with electrons directed along, and at an angle to, the antenna axis.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-4484/25/13/135303/pdf

Fabrication of suspended metal-dielectric-metal plasmonic nanostructures.

The spatial dose distribution across a feature, derived by a conventional 2-D proximity effect correction scheme, is a “V-shape,” i.e., higher dose closer to edges. With such a dose distribution, it is extremely difficult to realize a vertical sidewall in the resist profile for nanoscale features while reducing the critical dimension (CD) error. In this paper, it is shown that, in order to achieve a vertical sidewall of nanoscale feature with the minimum total dose, a dose distribution of a shape other than the V-shape must be used. This is due to the fact that the lateral development of resist becomes comparable to the vertical development for nanoscale features and the exposure varies along the depth dimension with high and low contrasts at the top and bottom layers of resist, respectively. Based on these characteristics, new types of dose distributions, i.e., “M-shape” and “A-shape,” have been derived to achieve a target resist profile of a vertical sidewall while minimizing the total dose. The simulation results show that the new dose distribution types lead to a more vertical sidewall, a smaller CD error, and a lower total dose.

/pdf/new-types-of-dose-distributions-for-vertical-sidewall-a247f389dy.pdf

New types of dose distributions for vertical sidewall minimizing total dose in 3-D electron-beam proximity effect correction of nanoscale features

Applications for high resolution 3D profiles, so-called grayscale lithography, exist in diverse fields such as optics, nanofluidics and tribology. All of them require the fabrication of patterns with reliable absolute patterning depth independent of the substrate location and target materials. Here we present a complete patterning and pattern-transfer solution based on thermal scanning probe lithography (t-SPL) and dry etching. We demonstrate the fabrication of 3D profiles in silicon and silicon oxide with nanometer scale accuracy of absolute depth levels. An accuracy of less than 1nm standard deviation in t-SPL is achieved by providing an accurate physical model of the writing process to a model-based implementation of a closed-loop lithography process. For transfering the pattern to a target substrate we optimized the etch process and demonstrate linear amplification of grayscale patterns into silicon and silicon oxide with amplification ratios of ∼6 and ∼1, respectively. The performance of the entire process is demonstrated by manufacturing photonic molecules of desired interaction strength. Excellent agreement of fabricated and simulated structures has been achieved.

/pdf/control-of-the-interaction-strength-of-photonic-molecules-by-vv1z9f0j29.pdf

Control of the interaction strength of photonic molecules by nanometer precise 3D fabrication.

A review of recent advances in fabrication of optical Fresnel lenses

Electron-beam lithography (EBL) is an important technique in manufacturing high-resolution nanopatterns for broad applications. However, the proximity effect in EBL can degrade the pattern quality and, thus, impact the performance of the applications greatly. The conventional proximity effect correction (PEC) methods, which employ computationally intensive cell or path removal method for development simulation, are very computational lengthy, especially for complex and large-area patterns. Here, the authors propose a novel short-range PEC method by transforming the evaluation of pattern feasibility into the shortest path problem based on the concept of critical-development time. The authors combine this evaluation algorithm with the swarm intelligence which mimics the natural collective behavior of animals to optimize the design of electron dose distribution in EBL. The PEC algorithm is applied for pattern fabrication for U-shaped split-ring resonator and produces optimized exposure pattern that shows exc...

Proximity effect correction in electron-beam lithography based on computation of critical-development time with swarm intelligence

A method and an apparatus for controlling a temperature adjustment device using a sensing device are provided. The method includes setting a test temperature, transmitting a temperature adjustment instruction corresponding to the test temperature to a temperature adjustment device, calculating a sleep score based on bio information received from the sensor, when applying the test temperature, and determining a sleep optimal temperature based on the calculated sleep score.

Method and apparatus for controlling temperature adjustment device

https://www.eng.auburn.edu/~sylee/pyramid_papers/ResistProfile.pdf

Estimation of resist profile for line/space patterns using layer-based exposure modeling in electron-beam lithography

One of the major limiting factors in electron beam (e-beam) lithography is the geometric distortion of written features due to electron scattering, which is known as the proximity effect. A conventional approach to the proximity effect correction (PEC) is, through 2D simulation, to determine the dose distribution and/or shape modification for each feature in a circuit pattern such that the written pattern is as close to the target pattern as possible. Earlier, it was shown that the 3D PEC, which considers the variation of exposure along the resist-depth dimension, would be necessary for the feature size well below 100 nm. Also, a feature-by-feature correction procedure is too time-consuming to be practical, especially for the 3D PEC of large-scale patterns. In this paper, a new method for the 3D PEC is proposed, which adopts 3D resist profile (instead of 2D exposure distribution) in optimization, but avoids the intensive computation by employing a critical-location-based correction procedure. The proposed...

Three-dimensional proximity effect correction for large-scale uniform patterns

A method and a temperature adjustment apparatus of adjusting an indoor temperature includes: predicting an temperature change pattern of a first rate time zone that is reached after an operation of a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system, based on an indoor temperature change pattern extracted from information stored; predicting a power consumption of the HVAC system based on the predicted temperature change pattern; and scheduling a discharging power quantity of an Energy Storage System (ESS) battery based on the predicted power consumption of the HVAC system in the first rate time zone, which is reached after the operation. The temperature adjustment method and the apparatus may schedule a discharging power quantity of the ESS battery in consideration of power consumption predicted by the temperature adjustment apparatus, external environmental factors, and characteristics of the ESS battery, thereby optimizing the rate reduction effect. The present disclosure relates to a sensor network, Machine Type Communication (MTC), Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication, and technology for Internet of Things (IoT). The present disclosure may be applied to intelligent services based on the above technologies, such as smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car, connected car, health care, digital education, smart retail, security and safety services.

Soo-Young Lee

Papers

Method and apparatus for controlling temperature adjustment device

Estimation of resist profile for line/space patterns using layer-based exposure modeling in electron-beam lithography

New types of dose distributions for vertical sidewall minimizing total dose in 3-D electron-beam proximity effect correction of nanoscale features

Three-dimensional proximity effect correction for large-scale uniform patterns

Temperature Adjustment Method and Apparatus