MRI: Acquisition of a Maskless Lithography System

物理学、工程学、化学和生物学的许多前沿研究领域都依赖于制造一微米或更小尺寸结构的能力。传统上，光刻技术，用于制造这种结构的工艺，是使用高分辨率掩模来完成的，其中光通过掩模投射到光敏光刻胶聚合物上，以创建所需的亚微米图案。这些掩模有很长的周转时间，这减慢了原型和测试过程，而且掩模可能很昂贵。相比之下，无掩模光刻系统允许使用移动激光束将图案直接写入光刻胶上；有了这样的系统，不需要口罩，它也可以用来制造内部定制口罩。该合同使科罗拉多州立大学（CSU）获得了一套无掩模光刻系统。该仪器位于CSU的洁净室设施中，任何感兴趣的用户都可以使用。这一仪器加强并使各种领域的研究成为可能。它使研究人员能够快速有效地创造亚微米结构，大大缩短了从想法到实现的时间，并为科学和工程提供了全新的方向。这种仪器也直接使学生受益。来自科罗拉多州北部/怀俄明州地区20多个研究小组的学生和博士后将立即使用该工具进行研究。此外，将开发一门带有动手组件的微加工短期课程，这将使科罗拉多州立大学的学生以及附近没有设施提供此类课程的机构（包括怀俄明大学和北科罗拉多大学）的学生受益。科罗拉多州的Front Range地区在高科技领域正经历着巨大的增长，这门课程将确保学生有实践技能的培训，这些技能与该领域的工作越来越相关。光刻技术是纳米尺度研究和材料科学的关键能力。根据该合同将获得的无掩模光刻系统使科罗拉多州立大学和北科罗拉多/怀俄明地区的邻近机构能够进行广泛的纳米科学相关研究。所选系统的主要优点是其高分辨率（0.8微米）和能够轻松地与已有模式对齐。该工具针对在小区域内直接书写平版印刷图案进行了优化，非常适合于能够轻松重新想象和重新设计样品的研究环境。新的无掩模光刻系统使许多学科的新研究成为可能。科罗拉多州立大学物理学家使用该仪器研究磁性纳米结构中的自旋动力学，具有微米尺度特征的薄膜中的超导涡旋以及新型自旋电子器件。在化学方面，亚微米触点将用于制造与ZnO纳米棒的电接触；在工程方面，该仪器将用于在硅和玻璃上制造新型微米尺寸的生物传感器，制造具有独特润湿性的纳米结构，以及制造高效太阳能电池。无掩模光刻系统将被安置在CSU的洁净室设施中，并将为尽可能广泛的用户群提供服务。科罗拉多州立大学中央仪器设施（CIF）在培训学生和维护科学设备方面的专业知识将被利用，以提供专门的工作人员来监督仪器，这将确保仪器的使用和维护，并确保所有用户接受高质量的培训。

Many cutting-edge areas of research in physics, engineering, chemistry, and biology depend on the ability to make structures with sizes of a micron or less. Traditionally, lithography, the process used to make such structures, is done using a high-resolution mask where light is projected through the mask onto a light-sensitive photoresist polymer to create the desired submicron patterns. These masks have a long turnaround time, which slows the prototyping and testing process, and the masks can be costly. In contrast, a maskless lithography system allows one to write a pattern directly onto photoresist using a moving laser beam; with such a system no mask is required, and it can also be used to fabricate custom masks in-house. This award enables the acquisition of a maskless lithography system at Colorado State University (CSU). The instrument housed in CSU's cleanroom facility will be available to any interested users. This instrument enhances and enables research in a variety of areas. It allows researchers to rapidly and efficiently create submicron structures, which greatly shortens the time between ideas and realization, and it enables entirely new directions in science and engineering. This instrument also directly benefits students. Students and postdocs from more than 20 research groups in the northern Colorado/Wyoming region will use the tool immediately for research. Additionally, a short course on microfabrication with a hands-on component will be developed that will benefit students at CSU as well as neighboring institutions that do not have the facilities to offer such a course, including the University of Wyoming and the University of Northern Colorado. The Front Range area of Colorado is experiencing tremendous growth in the high tech sector and this course will ensure that students have hands-on training on skills that are becoming increasingly relevant for jobs in the areaPhotolithography is a critical capability for nanoscale research and materials science. The maskless lithography system that will be acquired under this award enables a wide range of nanoscience-related research at Colorado State University and at neighboring institutions in the Northern Colorado/Wyoming area. The key advantages of the chosen system are its high resolution (0.8 micron) and its ability to easily align to pre-existing patterns. This tool is optimized for the direct writing of lithographic patterns over a small area and is well suited to a research environment where the ability to easily reimagine and redesign a sample is a particular asset. The new maskless lithography system enables new research in a number of disciplines. CSU physicists use the instrument to study spin dynamics in magnetic nanostructures, superconducting vortices in films with micron-scale features, and novel spintronic devices. In chemistry, submicron contacts will be fabricated to make electrical contact to ZnO nanorods, and in engineering, the instrument will be used to create novel micron-sized biosensors on silicon and glass, to fabricate nanostructures that have unique properties of wettability, and to make high-efficiency solar cells. The maskless lithography system will be housed in CSU's cleanroom facility and will be available to as wide a user base as possible. The expertise of CSU's Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF) in training students and maintaining scientific equipment will be leveraged to provide dedicated staff to oversee the instrument, which will ensure that the instrument is accessible and maintained, and that all users receive high-quality training.