Fabrication of Less than 20-nm-Diameter Nanodot Arrays Using Inorganic Electron Beam Resist and Post Exposure Bake

Abstract

Next-generation NanoImprint Lithography (NIL) includes photolithography and high-voltage-acceleration (>50 kV) Electron-Beam Lithography (EBL) both of which are expensive, which is why Low-Acceleration-Voltage (LAV) EBL has attracted attention. We fabricated nanodot arrays with a diameter of 20 nm or less combining inorganic resist and LAV EBL. Using Post-Exposure Bake (PEB), we reduced dot-array pattern size and conducted Ultra-Violet (UV) NIL using these nanodot molds. The results we obtained using nanodot arrays 10 nm in diameter fabricated by EBL at an acceleration voltage of 4 kV with PEB yielded a checkerboard design 10 nm in diameter spaced at 20 nm intervals using 10 kV EB. This density corresponds to nanodot-arrays of 1 Tb/in2.