Three-beam Interference Lithography Research Articles

Contrast Analysis of Polarization in Three-Beam Interference Lithography

This paper analyzes the effect of polarization and the incident angle on the contrasts of interference patterns in three-beam interference lithography. A non-coplanar laser interference system was set up to simulate the relationship between contrast, beam polarization, and the incident angle. Different pattern periods require different incident angles, which means different contrast losses in interference lithography. Two different polarization modes were presented to study the effects of polarization with different incident angles based on theoretical analysis simulations. In the case of the co-directional component TE polarization mode, it was demonstrated that the pattern contrast decreases with the increase in the incident angle and the contrast loss caused by the polarization angle error also grew rapidly. By changing the mode to azimuthal (TE-TE-TE) polarization, the contrast of the interference pattern can be ensured to remain above 0.97 even though the incident angle is large. In addition, TE-TE-TE mode can accept larger polarization angle errors. This conclusion provides a theoretical basis for the generation of high-contrast light fields at different incident angles, and the conclusion is also applicable to multi-beam interference lithography.

Identification of incident parameters of interference beams using angular power spectral density

Laser interference lithography is attracting increasing interest among researchers because of its high-efficiency and low-cost in fabrication of patterns. However, there are always operational errors in the setup of interference systems, which have a significant effect on the finally produced interference pattern. This paper has systematically investigated the influence of incident parameters including the incident angle, azimuth angle, and polarization angle on interference patterns. An algorithm has been proposed to extract interference fringes from complicated multibeam interference patterns using the angular power spectral density (APSD) function. The incident parameters were calculated based on the data extracted from the APSD images. Simulations were carried out to validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. 3-D periodic patterns were fabricated on silicon wafers using three-beam interference lithography. The topographies of the samples were measured using an optical profiler. Based on the established model, incident parameters of the interference system setup were calculated. The computational results are in good agreement with the preset values. The results have demonstrated the validation of the developed algorithm for incident parameter identification of interference beams.

Scalable Microaccordion Mesh for Deformable and Stretchable Metallic Films

Metals can be great conductors, but they tend to deform plastically rather than elastically, which can spoil their performance in flexible electronics. To solve this problem, the authors fabricate a flexible gold micromesh composed of periodic slits in a thin film, using single-shot three-beam interference lithography. This large-area patterning produces a conductive film that can be stretched by 30% without introducing defects. Scaling analysis shows the potential for further miniaturization, opening possibilities for stretchable connections in electronic, photonic, and sensing applications.

Polarization-dependent enhanced photoluminescence and polarization-independent emission rate of quantum dots on gold elliptical nanodisc arrays.

We have fabricated gold (Au) elliptical nanodisc (ND) arrays via three-beam interference lithography and electron beam deposition of gold. The enhanced photoluminescence intensity and emission rate of quantum dots (QDs) near to the Au elliptical NDs have been studied by tuning the nearest distance between quantum dots and Au elliptical NDs. We found that the photoluminescence intensity is polarization-dependent with the degree of polarization being equal to that of the light extinction of the Au elliptical NDs, while the emission rate is polarization-independent. This is resulted from the plasmon-coupled emission via the coupling between the QD dipole and the plasmon nano-antenna. Our experiments fully confirm the evidence of the plasmophore concept proposed recently in the interaction of the QDs with metal nanoparticles.

High-throughput fabrication of large-scale highly ordered ZnO nanorod arrays via three-beam interference lithography

Download options Please wait... Supplementary files Supplementary information PDF (20044K) Article information DOI https://doi.org/10.1039/C3CE41558A Article type Communication Submitted 04 Aug 2013 Accepted 23 Aug 2013 First published 23 Aug 2013 Download Citation CrystEngComm, 2013,15, 8416-8421 BibTex EndNote MEDLINE ProCite ReferenceManager RefWorks RIS Permissions Request permissions High-throughput fabrication of large-scale highly ordered ZnO nanorod arrays via three-beam interference lithography X. Chen, X. Yan, Z. Bai, Y. Shen, Z. Wang, X. Dong, X. Duan and Y. Zhang, CrystEngComm, 2013, 15, 8416 DOI: 10.1039/C3CE41558A To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page. If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page. Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content. Social activity Tweet Share Search articles by author Xiang Chen Xiaoqin Yan Zhiming Bai Yanwei Shen Zengze Wang Xianzi Dong Xuanming Duan Yue Zhang

Three-beam interference lithography methodology

Three-beam interference lithography represents a technology capable of producing two-dimensional periodic structures for applications such as micro- and nanoelectronics, photonic crystal devices, metamaterial devices, biomedical structures, and subwavelength optical elements. In the present work, a systematic methodology for implementing optimized three-beam interference lithography is presented. To demonstrate this methodology, specific design and alignment parameters, along with the range of experimentally feasible lattice constants, are quantified for both hexagonal and square periodic lattice patterns. Using this information, example photonic crystal rodlike structures and holelike structures are fabricated by appropriately controlling the recording wavevector configuration along with the individual beam amplitudes and polarizations, and by changing between positive- or negative-type photoresists.

Three-beam interference lithography: upgrading a Lloyd's interferometer for single-exposure hexagonal patterning

Three-beam interference lithography is used to create hole/dot photoresist patterns with hexagonal symmetry. This is achieved by modifying a standard two-beam Lloyd's mirror interferometer into a three-beam interferometer, with the position of the mirrors chosen to guarantee 120 degrees symmetry of exposure. Compared to commonly used three-beam setups, this brings the advantage of simplified alignment, as the position of the mirrors with respect to the substrate is fixed. Pattern periodicities from several wavelengths lambda down to 2/3lambda are thus easily and continuously accessible by simply rotating the three-beam interferometer. Furthermore, in contrast to standard Lloyd's interferometers, only a single exposure is needed to create hole/dot photoresist patterns.

Large-area magnetic metamaterials via compact interference lithography

Magnetic metamaterials with magnetic-dipole resonances around 1.2-mum wavelength are fabricated using an extremely compact and robust version of two- or three-beam interference lithography for 1D and 2D structures, respectively. Our approach employs a single laser beam at 532- nm wavelength impinging onto a suitably shaped dielectric object (roof-top prism or pyramid) - bringing the complexity of fabricating magnetic metamaterials down to that of evaporating usual dielectric/metallic coatings.The measured optical spectra agree well with theory; the retrieval reveals a negative magnetic permeability. Importantly, the large-scale sample homogeneity is explicitly demonstrated by optical experiments.

Microlens arrays with integrated pores

Microlenses are important optical components that image, detect, and couple light. But most synthetic microlenses have fixed position and shape once they are fabricated, so their possible range of tunability and complexity is rather limited. By comparison, biology provides many varied, new paradigms for the development of adaptive optical networks. Here, we discuss inspirational examples of biological lenses and their synthetic analogs. We focus on the fabrication and characterization of biomimetic microlens arrays with integrated pores, whose appearance and function are similar to highly efficient optical elements formed by brittlestars. The complex design can be created by three-beam interference lithography. The synthetic lens has strong focusing ability for use as an adjustable lithographic mask and a tunable optical device coupled with the microfluidic system. Replacing rigid microlenses with soft hydrogels provides a way of changing the lens geometry and refractive index continuously in response to external stimuli, resulting in intelligent, multifunctional, tunable optics.

Multifunctional Biomimetic Microlens Arrays with Integrated Pores

Biology provides a multitude of varied, new paradigms for the development of adaptive optical networks. We discuss a first example of synthetic, biomimetic microlens arrays with integrated pores, whose appearance and function are strikingly similar to their biological prototype – a highly efficient optical element formed by brittlestars. The complex microstructure is created directly by three-beam interference lithography in a single exposure from a negative-tone photoresist, SU8. We show that (i) these synthetic polymeric microlenses have strong focusing ability and the structure can be, therefore, (ii) used as an adjustable lithographic mask, and that (iii) light-absorbing liquids can be transported in and out of the pores between the lenses, which provides a wide range of tunability of the lens optical properties.