AVS 50th International Symposium
    Nanometer Structures Tuesday Sessions
       Session NS-TuP

Paper NS-TuP22
Photolithographic Structures with Precise Controllable Nanometer-Scale Spacings Created by Molecular Rulers

Tuesday, November 4, 2003, 5:30 pm, Room Hall A-C

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: M.E. Anderson, Pennsylvania State University
Authors: M.E. Anderson, Pennsylvania State University
L.P. Tan, Pennsylvania State University
M. Mihok, Pennsylvania State University
H. Tanaka, Pennsylvania State University
M.W. Horn, Pennsylvania State University
P.S. Weiss, Pennsylvania State University
Correspondent: Click to Email
The combination of conventional lithographic techniques with chemical self-assembly allows for the creation of nanostructures whose spacing and edge resolution reach nanometer-scale precision. The controlled placement and thickness of self-assembled multilayers composed of alternating layers of @alpha@,@omega@-mercaptoalkanoic acids and coordinated metal ions form precise "molecular ruler" resists to produce tailored, lithographically defined patterns.@footnote 1,2@ This resist is selectively deposited onto initial parent gold structures, metal is deposited, and the resist is lifted off, thereby leaving daughter structures whose spacing from the parent depends on the thickness of the resist. For future device fabrication with this technique, it would be advantageous to position these gaps selectively on the surface. We report here a method to accomplish this purpose by combining photolithography and molecular rulers. After forming the molecular resist, conventional photoresist is spin-cast onto the wafer and the photomask is aligned with the parent structure to place daughter structures only in selected locations. After exposure, development, metal deposition, and lift-off of both the photoresist and molecular resist, the final product is a wafer with daughter structures and gaps selectively oriented to create the desired hierarchical nanostructures. @FootnoteText@@footnote 1@ A. Hatzor and P.S. Weiss, Science 291, 1019 (2001). @footnote 2@ M. E. Anderson, R. K. Smith, Z. J. Donhauser, A. Hatzor, P. A. Lewis, L. P. Tan, H. Tanaka, M. W. Horn, and P. S. Weiss, Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B 20, 2739 (2002).