29 May 2012 Robust auto-alignment technique for orientation-dependent etching of nanostructures
Craig McGray, Ndubuisi G. Orji, Ronald G. Dixson, Michael W. Cresswell, Richard A. Allen, Jon C. Geist, Richard Kasica
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Abstract
A robust technique is presented for auto-aligning nanostructures to slow-etching planes during crystallographic etching of silicon. Lithographic mask patterns are modified from the intended dimensions of the nanostructures to compensate for uncertainty in crystal axis orientation. The technique was employed in fabricating silicon nanolines having lengths of 600 nm and widths less than 5 nm, subjected to intentional misalignment of up to ±1 deg. After anisotropic etching, the auto-aligned structures exhibited as little as 1 nm of width variation, as measured by a critical dimension atomic force microscope, across 2 deg of variation in orientation. By contrast, the widths of control structures fabricated without auto-alignment showed 8 nm of variation. Use of the auto-alignment technique can eliminate the need for fiducial-based alignment methods in a variety of applications.
© 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) 0091-3286/2012/$25.00 © 2012 SPIE
Craig McGray, Ndubuisi G. Orji, Ronald G. Dixson, Michael W. Cresswell, Richard A. Allen, Jon C. Geist, and Richard Kasica "Robust auto-alignment technique for orientation-dependent etching of nanostructures," Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS 11(2), 023005 (29 May 2012). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMM.11.2.023005
Published: 29 May 2012
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CITATIONS
Cited by 7 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
Etching

Crystals

Nanostructures

Photomasks

Silicon

Nanolithography

Lithography

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