Abstract
A novel mild etch is reported for the fabrication of three-dimensional structures in gold films when used in conjunction with an alkylthiol resist. This etch consists of a solution of mercaptoethylamine in ethanol to which a small amount of ammonium hydroxide has been added. Using mask-based photolithography, micron-scale features have been created that exhibit good edge definition. For long-chain thiols, there is little tendency for the regions protected by thiols to be eroded on extended exposure to the etch solution. In conjunction with scanning near-field photolithography, the new etch solution enables the fabrication of nanoscale structures with dimensions significantly smaller than the conventional diffraction limit.
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