MRI: Acquisition of a direct write laser lithography system

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Washington University in St. Louis proposes to acquire an instrument for patterning of micro and nanoscale features on substrates surfaces. The proposed instrument will be housed in the shared user cleanroom facility on campus. The instrument is capable of patterning two dimensional designs and three dimensional features with a spatial accuracy of 600 nanometers. This accuracy is achieved using a fine computer-guided laser beam to 'write' on a substrate covered with a light sensitive film. Once the pattern is imprinted, the light sensitive film can be used as a 'mask' for removing underlying material. Thus, the pattern is transferred from the computer generated file to the material being engineered. The availability of this unique instrument will impact nanoscale science and engineering research in the entire state of Missouri. Advanced research directly impacted with this instrument includes, but is not limited to, studying novel phenomena in nanomaterials, synthesizing unique nanostructures for efficient energy harvesting and storage, fabricating bio-inspired circuits for imaging and sensing and, engineering of devices for early disease detection and diagnostics. This instrument will be intensively used in the curricula and training program of undergraduate and graduate students at Washington University in St. Louis through two semester long courses and additional, staff-led one-on-one training. Students exposed to this instrument will become well-versed and knowledgeable in the science and engineering of micro- and nanotechnology, making them globally competitive in the high technology jobs market.The goal of this MRI proposal is to enable new micro- and nanoscale research in numerous fields of science and engineering. This goal will be achieved through the acquisition of the Heidelberg DWL 66+ laser direct write system, which addresses significant limitations associated with available pattern transfer techniques currently available at universities and research institutions in the state of Missouri. The advanced lithographic capabilities, including gray scale exposure mode and the ability to pattern chrome masks for printing features using conventional contact lithography, will allow the fabrication of devices with a range of dimensionally-dependent behaviors: 0D (e.g., quantum dots), 1D (nanowires), 2D (Si transistor technology), and 3D (microfluidics, and micro-electromechanical (MEMS) systems). The Heidelberg DWL 66+ incorporates the best attributes of conventional patterning technologies on a single integrated platform, including (1) design / redesign flexibility, (2) rapid and concurrent patterning of large areas with sub-micron, micron and millimeter scale features, and (3) a finer ultimate resolution than optical and UV photolithography. The direct write system will impact research spanning broad length scales and applications. Research objectives supported by this instrument include: (1) property measurement of nanowires / nanosheets and devices, atomically thin crystals, superconducting quantum circuits, and polymeric and composite micro- and nanostructures, (2) bio-inspired nanoscale structures for enhanced optical sensing, noninvasive chemical sensors, microresonators for nanoscale sensing, and (3) microelectronic / microfluidic / MEMS devices featuring complex 3D nozzle profiles for targeted mechanoporation-mediated drug delivery to biological cells, microfluidic environments for cell motility studies and plasmonic and photonic devices. The broad range of micro- and nanostructures fundamental to these research projects are not accommodated by any other available lithographic instrument.