New ultra-high resolution EBL system installed in Nanofabrication Facility

by Àlex Argemí

A new ultra-high resolution e-beam lithography (EBL) system has been installed in the ICN2 Nanofabrication Facility (cleanroom environment) during the last days of August. After some commissioning period it is now ready to give service to the research community, both to internal ICN2 researchers as well as to any external research institution.

This new e-beam lithography (EBL) equipment is an eLINE Plus system from Raith GmbH which is a powerful, modularly expandable research tool uniting the worlds of advanced electron beam lithography (EBL), nanoengineering, and ultra-high-resolution imaging & analysis. The system is equipped with 30keV Thermal Field Emission (TFE) filament technology offering down to 8nm lithography resolution in all operational modes on substrates up to 4” wafers. This system with its state-of-the-art laser interferometer-controlled stage ensures movement and pattern placement accuracies in the nm-regime and free-stitching patterning on large areas. It is also equipped with a gas injection system (GIS) for electron-beam induced deposition (EBID) which will allow the patterning of thin metal electrodes (Pt,W) with few nm lateral resolution.

This action aims to equip the common service provided by the Nanofabrication Facility with a unique and state-of-the-art system in the field of nanofabrication. This new equipment will contribute to develop novel nanofabrication processes and devices that can be applied in a wide range of research fields.