Electron beam lithography (EBL) system for nanofabrication of structures and devices

所设计的系统是一个具有最小像差电子光学的高分辨率电子束光刻系统。该系统将通过拼接激光编码级和“固定波束移动级”选项来实现大范围的有效写入。除了提供传统的EBL外，还可以进行原位纳米探测/地形测量，这对于有机电子学和生物集成光子学的预期应用尤其相关，因为在EBL之后，衬底通常需要精细的进一步操作或立即测试。基于有机半导体的光电子学是Universität zu Köln （UzK）的战略优势，Klaus Meerholz教授多年来一直领导这些工作。随着humboldt - Malte Gather教授的招聘，Klas Lindfors教授的任期以及由Meerholz主持的DFG研究培训小组2591模板设计有机电子学（TIDE）的开始，UzK及其化学系现在进一步加强了新兴材料的光电子学研究。特别是，对有机电子学的兴趣进一步扩展到纳米级（生物）光子学和等离子体学方向。在搬到UzK之前，Gather在圣安德鲁斯大学（英国）广泛使用EBL。尽管他与以前的公司保持着密切的联系，但完全依赖那里可用的EBL是不现实的。在搬到UzK之前，Lindfors也经常在他的研究中使用EBL，作为UzK的初级教授，他只能有限地使用科隆的另一台EBL机器。随着Lindfors集团的发展，Gather集团的进一步需求，TIDE的开始，以及所有三个申请人对样品污染和EBL性能的具体要求，迫切需要一个专用的EBL系统。作为Gather招聘和纳米生物光子学中心相关创建的一部分，UzK正在化学系建立一个新的120平方米的洁净室。EBL系统将成为该设施的核心，并将受益于目前创建或已经存在的一些补充功能，包括光刻（掩膜校准器和“无掩膜”曝光），沉积工具（溅射/热/电子束PVD， ALD/CVD，印刷）和蚀刻设备（ICP-RIE干式蚀刻，湿式蚀刻柜）。总之，这将允许在无污染的环境中制造扩展的纳米级结构。这种大规模的活动意味着申请人处于一个极好的位置，以充分利用拟议设备的功能，并确保该设施将被大量使用。从科学上讲，这将影响材料研究领域的一系列活动，包括有机电子器件中纳米结构的产生（Meerholz/Gather），光子学/等离子体学（Lindfors/Gather）的进步，以及为生物医学研究提供新型生物集成设备（Gather/Schubert）。

The planned system is a high-resolution electron beam lithography (EBL) system with minimum aberration electron optics. The system will allow large effective write-fields through stitching with laser encoded stages and a “fixed-beam-moving-stage” option. In addition to providing conventional EBL, in-situ nanoprobing/topography measurements will be possible which is particularly relevant for the intended applications in organic electronics and biointegrated photonics where substrates often require delicate further manipulation or immediate testing after EBL.Optoelectronics based on organic semiconductors is a strategic strength at Universität zu Köln (UzK), with Prof. Klaus Meerholz having led these efforts for many years. With the recruitment of Humboldt-Professor Malte Gather, the tenure of Prof. Klas Lindfors and the start of the DFG Research Training Group 2591 on Template-designed Organic Electronics (TIDE) chaired by Meerholz, UzK and its Department of Chemistry are now further strengthening research on optoelectronics with emerging materials. In particular, the interest in organic electronics is expanded further in the direction of nanoscale (bio)photonics and plasmonics. Prior to moving to UzK, Gather has extensively used EBL at University of St Andrews (UK). Although he keeps close ties with his former affiliation, it is not practical to exclusively rely on the EBL available there. Lindfors also routinely employed EBL in his research before moving to UzK and as Juniorprofessor at UzK had limited access to another EBL machine in Cologne. With the Lindfors group now growing, significant further demand from the Gather group, the start of TIDE, and also given specific requirements on sample contamination and EBL performance by all three applicants, a dedicated EBL system is urgently needed.As part of Gather’s recruitment and the associated creation of the Centre for NanoBioPhotonics, UzK is establishing a new 120m2 cleanroom in the Chemistry Department. The EBL system will form the heart of this facility and will benefit from a number of complementary capabilities currently created or already existing, including photolithography (mask aligner and ‘mask-less’ exposure), deposition tools (sputter/thermal/e-beam PVD, ALD/CVD, printing) and etching facilities (ICP-RIE dry etch, wet etch cabinets). Together, this will allow fabrication of extended nanoscale structures in a contamination-free environment. This large-scale activity means that the applicants are in an excellent position to make the most of the capabilities of the proposed equipment, and also ensures that the facility will be heavily used. Scientifically, this will impact a range of activities in the area of materials research, including amongst others the generation of nanostructures in organic electronic devices (Meerholz/Gather), advances in photonics/plasmonics (Lindfors/Gather) and enabling new types of biointegrated devices for biomedical research (Gather/Schubert).