Fabrication and application of a full wafer size micro/nanostencil for multiple length-scale surface patterning

Abstract

A tool and method for flexible and rapid surface patterning technique beyond lithography based on high-resolution shadow mask method, or nanostencil, is presented. This new type of miniaturized shadow mask is fabricated by a combination of MEMS processes and focused ion beam (FIB) milling. Thereby apertures in a 100-500 nm thick low-stress silicon nitride membrane in the size range from , 100 nm to . 100 mm were made. The stencil device is mechanically fixed on the surface and used as miniature shadow mask during deposition of metal layers. Using this method, aluminum micro-and nanostructures as small as 100 nm in width were patterned. The deposited micro-and nano-scale structures were used as etch mask and transferred into a sub-layer (in our case silicon nitride) by dry plasma etching. High-resolution shadow masking can be used to create micro / nanoscale patterns on arbitrary substrates including mechanically fragile or chemically active surfaces. 

Full wafer integration of NEMS on CMOS by nanostencil lithography

“…1). The applications of nSL have been discussed elsewhere [3]. Full-wafer (100mm) nanostencil fabrication is based on advanced bulk and surface micromachining [4].…”

Synthesis of localized 2D‐layers of silicon nanoparticles embedded in a SiO2 layer by a stencil‐masked ultra‐low energy ion implantation process

“…Previous work [3] has demonstrated that a two dimensional array of Si nps embedded into a thin SiO 2 layer (from 5 to 10 nm) can be synthesized by ultra-low energy ion implantation (ULE-II) (1 keV) followed by thermal annealing (under N 2 or a slight mixture of N 2 + 1.5% O 2 at 900 to 1000 °C). At the same time, stencil mask process has been developed to transfer patterns into a selective area of a substrate either by metal deposition [4], ion beam lithography [5] or masked ion implantation [6]. Thus, the combination of ULE-II and stencil mask can be as an alternative method to locally synthesize a controlled number of self-organized nps.…”

Corrugated membranes for improved pattern definition with micro/nanostencil lithography

“…These new methods include: indentation of polymers by nanoimprint lithography (NIL) [1,2], local deposition of molecules via a stamp by microcontact printing (CP) or soft-lithography [3,4], or via dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) [5], nanoscale fluidic dispensing (NADIS) [6] and localized material deposition through ultra-miniature shadow masks (nanostencils) [7][8][9][10]. The stencil method has the advantage of being a direct vacuum patterning technology, i.e.…”