Edge lithography based on aluminum dry etching

Abstract

Traditional nanolithography methods, such as electron beam or ion beam lithography, can be expensive and slow, limiting their applications. Edge lithography offers a promising alternative for efficiently and effectively creating nanoscale patterns using lower-cost lithography equipment with higher throughput. Our paper presents a new edge lithography technique to pattern fine structures with coarse patterns utilizing aluminum plasma dry etching without thin film deposition. The aluminum oxide layer generated on the sidewall of the Al structure during the etching process defines the final nanostructures. Our experiments show that this layer is formed through the oxidation of the aluminum layer itself, providing a simple and practical approach to creating complex nanostructures without additional steps or materials. In addition, using the non-switching pseudo-Bosch etching process, we transferred the nano-edge pattern formed in aluminum oxide into the silicon substrate. Our technique allows for cost-effective and efficient nanoscale patterning for various applications.