VUV microfabrication

利用波长为172nm的真空紫外（VUV）光进行微细加工技术的研究。采用Xe准分子灯作为光加工的光源。由于该VUV光具有7.2 eV的高光子能量，因此可以诱导各种有机材料表面发生光化学反应。因此，只需通过光掩膜照射材料表面，光掩膜图案就可以直接转移到表面上，而无需复杂的光刻工艺。此外，我们还开发了一种新的光加工工艺，即。在这个过程中，大气中的氧分子被激发并解离成氧原子。这些紫外辐射产生的氧原子氧化材料表面，因此在表面上形成氧化图案。原子氧具有很强的氧化性，它能氧化任何类型的有机物质。因此，氧化图案可以在对172nm VUV光无光敏性的有机材料表面形成，例如，饱和碳氢化合物。通过优化VUV制图条件，我们成功地制作了0.5 μm级的精细图形。

This research has been conducted in order to develop the microfabrication technology using vacuum ultra-violet (VUV) light at 172 nm in wavelength. A Xe excimer lamp was employed as a light source for photofabrication. Since this VUV light has a high photon energy of 7.2 eV, photochemical reactions can be induced various organic material surfaces. Thus, by simply irradiating a material surface through a photomask, the photomask pattern is directly transferred onto the surface without complicated photolithography processes. Furthermore, we have developed a novel photofabrication process, that is. oxygen-amplified VUV microfabrication, In this process, atmospheric oxygen molecules are excited and dissociated to atomic oxygen. These VUV-generated oxygen atoms oxidize a material surface so the an oxidized pattern is formed on the surface. Atomic oxygen is so oxidative that it can oxidize any types of organic materials. Thus, oxidized patterns can be formed on organic material surfaces which has no photosensitivity to 172 nm VUV light, for example, saturated hydrocarbons. By optimizing VUV patterning conditions, we have succeeded in fabricating 0.5 μm-class fine patterns.