A low-cost fabrication method of nanostructures by ultraviolet proximity exposing lithography

Abstract

The lithography contact/proximity printing technique is widely used in the fabrication of microelectronic components, optical devices, and micro-fluidic chips. However, the fabrication of nano-sized structures requires high-cost equipment. This paper proposes a low-cost method to manufacture nanostructures by ultraviolet proximity exposing lithography through a microphotomask on a conventional lithographic aligner. The influence of exposure distance on photoresist pattern size is studied, and the standing wave effect on the photoresist layer is reduced by post-baking. This cost effective method can be widely applied to fabricate patterns with a nanofeature size.