MRI: Acquisition of a Maskless Lithography Tool for the Brown Nanofabrication Central Facility

MRI：为布朗纳米加工中心设施采购无掩模光刻工具

• 批准号: 1827453
• 负责人: Alexander Zaslavsky
• 金额: $ 28.7万
• 依托单位: Brown University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2020-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1827453&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Maskless; Lithography; Tool

This award from the Major Research Instrumentation program supports Brown University with the acquisition of a modern maskless lithography system (Heidelberg Instruments MLA-150). Maskless lithography, where the pattern is transferred to the substrate by rapidly scanning a laser beam over the photoresist-covered substrate, under computer control overcomes many of the limitations of current photolithography techniques. The instrument will be located within the Nanofabrication Central Facility (NCF) and will support the research by some 25 research groups at Brown University including faculty from Engineering to Physics to Chemistry to Biomedical Engineering as well as local research community and industry. The MLA-150 will enable high-speed and flexible optical lithography down to micron-sized features at low cost and over large areas, without the constraints of pre-existing mask sets. In the immediate future, it will enable research in a range of funded or planned research projects in electronic and microfluidic devices. The flexibility of the system would help expand the range of laboratory courses currently supported by the NCF (three Engineering fabrication courses, currently focused on diode, transistor and solar cell fabrication) to encompass e.g. microfluidic devices. Postdoctoral scholars, graduate and undergraduate students will have an opportunity to be trained in this versatile fabrication technique. This Major Research Instrumentation award supports the acquisition of a Heidelberg Instruments MLA-150 maskless lithography tool, with ~1 micrometer achievable feature size over a 150 mm field of exposure, with fast computer-controlled high-accuracy (0.5 micrometer) alignment and short (minutes-long) exposure times. The instrument includes two laser illumination modules and integrated cameras for high-accuracy alignment to pre-existing structures. The system will be integrated in a new Nanofabrication Central Facility (NCF) cleanroom at Brown University. This state-of-the-art instrument will foster interdisciplinary research at the intersection between diverse research fields in electronic and optoelectronic devices: fabrication of Ge quantum-dot based photodetectors; nitride vertical current flow transistors; piezoelectric energy harvesting devices; and magnetic tunnel junction-based memory elements and arrays. In the advanced materials area, it will contribute to: large-area surface patterning for THz emission spectroscopy; ultra-thin layered materials for structural coloration; templated surfaces for self-assembled nanoparticle arrays; 3D photocatalytic structures; and adaptive meta-surfaces based on phase-change materials. In the rapidly expanding bio-engineering area, the MLA-150 will permit large-area microfluidic structures to study spatially confined cell migration; DNA manipulation; and geometrically-constrained stem cell migration and differentiation. The instrument will be made available to other local academic institutions and local industry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

主要研究仪器项目的这一奖项支持布朗大学购买现代无掩模光刻系统(海德堡仪器公司的MLA-150)。无掩模光刻技术是在计算机控制下，通过在覆盖有光刻胶的衬底上快速扫描激光束，将图案转移到衬底上，克服了当前光刻技术的许多局限性。该仪器将设在纳米制造中心设施(NCF)内，并将支持布朗大学约25个研究小组的研究，这些研究小组包括从工程到物理、化学到生物医学工程的教职员工以及当地研究社区和行业。MLA-150将使高速和灵活的光学光刻以低成本和大面积实现微米级的特征，而不受现有掩模组的限制。在不久的将来，它将使电子和微流控设备的一系列资助或计划研究项目的研究成为可能。该系统的灵活性将有助于扩大NCF目前支持的实验室课程的范围(三门工程制造课程，目前侧重于二极管、晶体管和太阳能电池制造)，以涵盖例如微流控器件。博士后学者、研究生和本科生将有机会接受这种多功能制造技术的培训。这一重大研究仪器奖支持收购海德堡仪器公司的MLA-150无掩模光刻工具，该工具在150 mm的曝光范围内具有~1微米的可实现特征尺寸，具有快速的计算机控制的高精度(0.5微米)对准和短(几分钟长)的曝光时间。该仪器包括两个激光照明模块和集成摄像头，可高精度对准预先存在的结构。该系统将集成在布朗大学的一个新的纳米制造中心(NCF)洁净室中。这一最先进的仪器将促进电子和光电设备不同研究领域之间的交叉学科研究，这些领域包括：基于Ge量子点的光电探测器的制造；氮化物垂直电流流动晶体管；压电能量采集设备；以及基于磁隧道结的存储元件和阵列。在先进材料领域，它将有助于：用于太赫兹发射光谱的大面积表面图案化；用于结构着色的超薄层状材料；用于自组装纳米颗粒阵列的模板化表面；三维光催化结构；以及基于相变材料的自适应亚表面。在迅速扩大的生物工程领域，MLA-150将允许大面积微流控结构研究空间受限的细胞迁移、DNA操作以及几何约束的干细胞迁移和分化。该工具将提供给其他当地学术机构和当地行业。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Nonhysteretic Vortex Magnetic Tunnel Junction Sensor with High Dynamic Reserve

• DOI: 10.1103/physrevapplied.14.034051
• 发表时间: 2020-09-18
• 期刊: PHYSICAL REVIEW APPLIED
• 影响因子: 4.6
• 作者: He, Guanyang;Zhang, Yiou;Xiao, Gang
• 通讯作者: Xiao, Gang