Thermal probe maskless lithography for 27.5 nm half-pitch Si technology.

Thermal scanning probe lithography is used for creating lithographic patterns with 27.5 nm half-pitch line density in a 50 nm thick high carbon content organic resist on a Si substrate. The as-written patterns in the poly phthaladehyde thermal resist layer have a depth of 8 nm, and they are transformed into high-aspect ratio binary patterns in the high carbon content resist using a SiO2 hard-mask layer with a thickness of merely 4 nm and a sequence of selective reactive ion etching steps. Using this process, a line-edge roughness after transfer of 2.7 nm (3σ) has been achieved. The patterns have also been transferred into 50 nm deep structures in the Si substrate with excellent conformal accuracy. The demonstrated process capabilities in terms of feature density and line-edge roughness are in accordance with today's requirements for maskless lithography, for example for the fabrication of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) masks.

Note: micro-cantilevers with AlN actuators and PtSi tips for multi-frequency atomic force microscopy.

We report the design, fabrication, and characterization of cantilevers with integrated AlN actuators and conductive PtSi tips for multi-frequency atomic force microscopy. These cantilevers also possess a stepped-rectangular geometry. The excellent dynamic behavior of these cantilevers is investigated using both finite-element simulations and experimental methods. Several imaging experiments are presented to illustrate the efficacy and versatility of these cantilevers.

Atomic force microscopy with nanoscale cantilevers resolves different structural conformations of the DNA double helix.

Structural variability and flexibility are crucial factors for biomolecular function. Here we have reduced the invasiness and enhanced the spatial resolution of atomic force microscopy (AFM) to visualize, for the first time, different structural conformations of the two polynucleotide strands in the DNA double helix, for single molecules under near-physiological conditions. This is achieved by identifying and tracking the anomalous resonance behavior of nanoscale AFM cantilevers in the immediate vicinity of the sample.

Rapid turnaround scanning probe nanolithography.

Scanning probe nanolithography (SPL) has demonstrated its potential in a variety of applications like 3D nanopatterning, 'direct development' lithography, dip-pen deposition or patterning of self-assembled monolayers. One of the main issues holding back SPL has been the limited throughput for patterning and imaging. Here we present a complete lithography and metrology system based on thermomechanical writing into organic resists. Metrology is carried out using a thermoelectric topography sensing method. More specifically, we demonstrate a system with a patterning pixel clock of 500 kHz, 20 mm s(-1) linear scan speed, a positioning accuracy of 10 nm, a read-back frequency bandwidth of 100, 000 line-pairs s(-1) and a turnaround time from patterning to qualifying metrology of 1 min. Thus, we demonstrate a nanolithography system capable of implementing rapid turnaround.

Nanoscale three-dimensional patterning of molecular resists by scanning probes.

For patterning organic resists, optical and electron beam lithography are the most established methods; however, at resolutions below 30 nanometers, inherent problems result from unwanted exposure of the resist in nearby areas. We present a scanning probe lithography method based on the local desorption of a glassy organic resist by a heatable probe. We demonstrate patterning at a half pitch down to 15 nanometers without proximity corrections and with throughputs approaching those of Gaussian electron beam lithography at similar resolution. These patterns can be transferred to other substrates, and material can be removed in successive steps in order to fabricate complex three-dimensional structures.

Ultralow nanoscale wear through atom-by-atom attrition in silicon-containing diamond-like carbon.

Understanding friction and wear at the nanoscale is important for many applications that involve nanoscale components sliding on a surface, such as nanolithography, nanometrology and nanomanufacturing. Defects, cracks and other phenomena that influence material strength and wear at macroscopic scales are less important at the nanoscale, which is why nanowires can, for example, show higher strengths than bulk samples. The contact area between the materials must also be described differently at the nanoscale. Diamond-like carbon is routinely used as a surface coating in applications that require low friction and wear because it is resistant to wear at the macroscale, but there has been considerable debate about the wear mechanisms of diamond-like carbon at the nanoscale because it is difficult to fabricate diamond-like carbon structures with nanoscale fidelity. Here, we demonstrate the batch fabrication of ultrasharp diamond-like carbon tips that contain significant amounts of silicon on silicon microcantilevers for use in atomic force microscopy. This material is known to possess low friction in humid conditions, and we find that, at the nanoscale, it is three orders of magnitude more wear-resistant than silicon under ambient conditions. A wear rate of one atom per micrometre of sliding on SiO(2) is demonstrated. We find that the classical wear law of Archard does not hold at the nanoscale; instead, atom-by-atom attrition dominates the wear mechanisms at these length scales. We estimate that the effective energy barrier for the removal of a single atom is approximately 1 eV, with an effective activation volume of approximately 1 x 10(-28) m.

Nanoscale phase transformation in Ge2Sb2Te5 using encapsulated scanning probes and retraction force microscopy.

Encapsulated conducting probes that can sustain high currents are used to study the nanoscale properties of thin-film stacks comprising of a phase-change chalcogenide, Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5). Scaling studies on this promising candidate for random-access memory devices had thus far required extensive lithography and nanoscale growth. This seriously hampers rapid materials characterization. This article describes the use of two key techniques, an encapsulated conductive probe and its use in retraction mode, whereby the attractive force between tip and sample is used to maintain electrical contact. The effective transformation of nanoscale dots of amorphous Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5) into the crystalline state is achieved and the electrical conductivity of the transformed structures is probed. The use of retraction force microscopy in a robust manner is demonstrated by reading the conductivity of the crystalline dots. Both these techniques could enable rapid electrical characterization of nanoscale materials, without extensive nanopatterning, thus reducing material development cycles.

Encapsulated tips for reliable nanoscale conduction in scanning probe technologies.

Nanoscale tip apexes of conducting cantilever probes are important enablers for several conducting probe technologies that require reliable long-term operation, while preserving the nanoscale integrity of the tip apex. In this paper, the concept of an encapsulated tip with a nanoscale conducting core is presented. A method to fabricate such tips on conducting silicon microcantilevers is described. Long-term conduction and wear reliability of these nanoscale tips are evaluated systematically, and their ability to operate for sliding distances greater than 2 m in conduction and 11 m in wear on amorphous carbon is demonstrated. These results are expected to have an impact on the future of conducting probe-based technologies such as probe-based nanometrology, data storage and nanolithography.

Analyzing refractive index changes and differential bending in microcantilever arrays.

A new microcantilever array design is investigated comprising eight flexible microcantilevers introducing two solid bars, enabling to subtract contributions from differences in refractive index in an optical laser read out system. Changes in the refractive index do not contribute undesirably to bending signals at picomolar to micromolar DNA or protein concentrations. However, measurements of samples with high salt concentrations or serum are affected, requiring corrections for refractive index artifacts. Moreover, to obtain a deeper understanding of molecular stress formation, the differential curvature of cantilevers is analyzed by positioning the laser spots along the surface of the levers during pH experiments.

Cryogenic current-in-plane tunneling apparatus.

We have designed and fabricated a cryogenic variable-temperature current-in-plane tunneling apparatus to measure the magnetoresistive properties of unpatterned magnetic tunnel junction wafers as a function of temperature. The wafer is mounted on the cold finger of a liquid helium continuous flow cryostat. The temperature can be continuously varied between 7 and 330 K. We describe the design and fabrication of the micromachined silicon probe head that comprises a comb of 20 measuring and 4 leveling probes. The measuring probes are typically 0.7 microm wide and 1.2 microm thick, with lengths of 10, 7, and 4 microm, and a pitch that varies from 1.5 to 30 microm. The leveling probes are used in conjunction with a tilt stage to adjust the parallelism between the comb and the sample wafer during the approach of the probe head. The probe head is mounted on a nonmagnetic x-y stage, which can access a 22x22 mm(2) area with a repeatability of approximately 1 microm. The first measurements taken at room and cryogenic temperatures are shown.