Charge Shielding-Oriented Design of Zinc-Based Nanoparticle Liquids for Controlled Nanofabrication

Abstract

Metal-containing nanoparticles possess nanoscale sizes, but the exploitation of their nanofeatures in nanofabrication processes remains challenging. Herein, we report the realization of a class of zinc-based nanoparticle liquids and their potential for applications in controlled nanofabrication. Utilizing the metal-core charge shielding strategy, we prepared nanoparticles that display glass-to-liquid transition behavior with glass transition temperature far below room temperature (down to −50.9 °C). Theoretical calculations suggest the outer surface of these unusual nanoparticles is almost neutral, thus leading to interparticle interactions weak enough to give them liquefaction characteristics. Such features endow them with extraordinarily high dispersibility and excellent film-forming capabilities. Twenty-two types of nanoparticles synthesized by this strategy have all shown good lithographic properties in the mid-ultraviolet, electron beam, or extreme ultraviolet light, and these nanoparticle liquids have achieved controlled top-down nanofabrication with predesigned 18 or 16 nm patterns. This proposed strategy is synthetically scalable and structurally extensible and is expected to inspire the design of entirely new forms of nanomaterials.

Exceptional Lithography Sensitivity Boosted by Hexafluoroisopropanols in Photoresists

“…Photolithography utilizes light to project a designed pattern onto a photosensitive photoresist, and the light sensitivity of photoresists is of crucial importance, as it influences the efficiency of the lithography and ultimately determines the yield of semiconductor manufacturing [ 1 ]. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography [ 2 , 3 ] and electron beam lithography (EBL) [ 4 , 5 , 6 ] possess state-of-the-art nanofabrication capabilities; however, stringent sensitivity requirements need to be met while maintaining the ability to print ever-shrinking feature sizes [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. For the time being, this remains a challenge.…”

Additive-Assisted Forming High-Quality Thin Films of Sn–Oxo Cluster for Nanopatterning

“…They possess tailorable structures at the atomic level. Recently, various controllable methods for preparing stable MOCs with diverse metal centers and outer organic ligands have been developed, laying the foundation for their functional regulation and application explorations. − Thus, far, MOCs have gained interest in various areas, including catalysis, gas adsorption and separation, biomedicine, and nonlinear optics. , Recently, considerable efforts have been devoted to promoting the use of MOCs in advanced photolithography, e.g., extreme-ultraviolet lithography (EUVL; 13.5 nm), state-of-the-art techniques in the semiconductor industry to manufacture sub-5 nm node chips. − The properties of MOCs, including small sizes, well-defined structures, high extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) absorption cross sections, and high reactivity under EUV irradiation, make them promising photoresists for EUVL. − Accordingly, designing and tuning these properties and understanding their fundamental chemistry under EUV irradiation are essential to promote their applications.…”