Electron-beam lithography (e-beam lithography) is a high-precision nanofabrication technique used to create intricate patterns with features as small as a few nanometers. It involves using a focused beam of electrons to write directly onto a substrate coated with a special resist material. This method eliminates the need for templates, making it highly adaptable for complex designs and applications across various fields.
By Atif SuhailReviewed by Lexie CornerJan 6 2025 Electron-beam lithography is a high-precision nanofabrication technique used to produce patterns with features as small as a few nanometers. By using a focused beam of electrons to write directly onto a substrate coated with an electron-sensitive resist, e-beam lithography eliminates the need for templates, making it a highly adaptable tool for intricate designs.
As the beam scans the resist-coated surface, it transfers energy to the resist, triggering chemical changes in the exposed areas. The solubility of these regions depends on the type of resist used. For positive resists, exposure makes the areas more soluble in the developer solution. Conversely, for negative resists, exposure causes cross-linking, rendering the areas less soluble.3
After coating, the substrate undergoes a soft bake at temperatures between 130 °C and 170 °C to remove residual solvents and strengthen the adhesion of the resist to the substrate. This step is essential for ensuring precise patterning during subsequent stages.4-5 Once etching is complete, the remaining resist is removed using appropriate solvents, leaving the final patterned structure on the substrate. This structure is now ready for various applications, including microelectronics, photonics, and other nanotechnology fields.5,6Types of Electron-Beam Lithography Serial Writing Traditional e-beam lithography uses a serial writing process where a finely focused electron beam writes the pattern pixel by pixel onto a resist-coated substrate.
Challenges such as beam alignment and uniformity persist; however, parallel writing demonstrates considerable potential to address the requirements of commercial semiconductor manufacturing and large-scale nanofabrication. These advancements enhance the practicality of e-beam lithography for industrial-scale applications.3, 9
2. Cui, Z. . Electron Beam Lithography. Nanofabrication: Principles, Capabilities and Limits. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-0-387-75577-9
NANOTECHNOLOGY MATERIALS SCIENCE ELECTRONICS Biophotonics FABRICATION
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