2025/12/01 by Axel Scherer, Richard D. Smith · 1 voice
Engineering · Materials Science · #Advancements in Photolithography Techniques #Nanofabrication and Lithography Techniques #Optical Coatings and Gratings
paper · doi:10.1116/6.0004949
openalex created_date 2025/12/01 · openalex publication_date 2025/12/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
We compare two promising new positive self-developing electron beam resists that enable the direct patterning of nanostructures at the 1–5 nm scale. Myo-inositol is a positive organic resist that can be exposed to provide line and dot gratings with 8 nm pitch at a dose of 6 nC/cm. YbF2 provides better resolution in thick films as it is mechanically stronger, and we show line and dot gratings with 5 nm pitch at a dose of 80 nC/cm. Both of these resists were deposited by vapor deposition, and their exposure conditions were compared by exposing and imaging resist patterns in a scanning transmission electron microscope with a 0.2 nm spot size at 40–160 kV. 5 nm feature sizes were demonstrated in 90–100 nm thick layers of both materials.