Bernd Loechel

Wall profile of thick photoresist generated via contact printing

High-aspect-ratio patterns generated by direct contact or proximity printing in LIGA and other similar processes have recently gained great interest in the field of MEMS. One key issue for a successful thick-film lithography Is the control of wall profile. This paper deals with this issue based on an approximation including the effects of Fresnel diffraction and exposure kinetics for various types of photoresist. This approach leads to simple but practical formulas for estimating the wall profile and resolution for the near-field lithography of thick photoresist.

Application of ultraviolet depth lithography for surface micromachining

Very thick photoresist layers were patterned by contact ultraviolet (UV) lithography. In a following microelectrodeposition step the generated resist patterns were molded and three‐dimensional (3D) microstructures were fabricated directly onto system surfaces. The new technology, called 3D UV‐microforming, consists of an advanced resist preparation process, an UV lithographic step, resist development, a molding procedure by electrodeposition, and finally stripping and cleaning for finishing the structures. It enables the low‐cost fabrication of a wide variety of microcomponents for many different uses. During resist preparation, layers up to 200 μm thickness were obtained. By using a standard UV mask aligner as an exposure tool followed by immersion development, thick resist layers up to 100 μm could be patterned in a single step on preprocessed silicon wafers. Repeated exposure and development were successfully used for structuring resist layers of up to 200 μm thickness. Using AZ 4000 series photoresist...

SU-8-based deep x-ray lithography/LIGA

Poly-methylmethacrylate (PMMA), a positive resist, is the most commonly used resist for deep X-ray lithography (DXRL)/LIGA technology. Although PMMA offers superior quality with respect to accuracy and sidewall roughness but it is also extremely insensitive. In this paper, we present our research results on SU-8 as negative resist for deep X-ray lithography. The results show that SU-8 is over two order of magnitude more sensitive to X-ray radiation than PMMA and the accuracy of the SU-8 microstructures fabricated by deep X-ray lithography is superior to UV-lithography and comparable to PMMA structures. The good pattern quality together with the high sensitivity offers rapid prototyping and direct LIGA capability. Moreover, the combinational use of UV and X-ray lithography as well as the use of positive and negative resists made it possible to fabricate complex multi-level 3D microstructures. The new process can be used to fabricate complex multi-level 3D structures for MEMS, MOEMS, Bio-MEMS or other micro-devices.

Fabrication of ultra thick, ultra high aspect ratio microcomponents by deep and ultra deep X-ray lithography

Two advanced processes have been developed for fabricating ultra thick and ultra high aspect ratio (HAR) microstructures. One is the SU-8 based deep X-ray lithography (SU-8 based DXRL) process which uses the normal deep X-ray beam to expose the negative SU-8 resist. Another one is wave length shifter(WLS) based Ultra deep X-ray lithography (WLS-UDXRL) process which uses special ultra deep X-ray beam from wave length shifter to expose the positive PMMA resist. For SU-8 based DXRL process, the typical exposure time of a layer of SU-8 is about 1% of that of PMMA. Even for a few millimeters thick resists the exposure time are just a few minutes. In WLS-UDXRL process, the X-ray beam is strengthened by a wave length shifter(WLS) so the required exposure time for ultra thick PMMA is reduced greatly. In the paper, the characteristic of the these two processes are discussed and the examples of the ultra thick and ultra HAR microstructures fabricated by these processes are presented (ultra thick up to 3600 /spl mu/m and HAR up to 360).

Cost-effective masks for deep x-ray lithography

The production of X-ray masks is one of the key techniques for X-ray lithography and the LIGA process. Different ways for the fabrication of X-ray masks has been established. Very sophisticated, difficult and expensive procedures are required to produce high precision and high quality X-ray masks. In order to minimize the cost of an X-ray mask, the mask blank must be inexpensive and readily available. The steps involved in the fabrication process must also be minimal. In the past, thin membranes made of titanium, silicon carbide, silicon nitride (2-5μm) or thick beryllium substrates (500μm) have been used as mask blanks. Thin titanium and silicon compounds have very high transparency for X-rays; therefore, these materials are predestined for use as mask membrane material. However, the handling and fabrication of thin membranes is very difficult, thus expensive. Beryllium is highly transparent to X-rays, but the processing and use of beryllium is risky due to potential toxicity. During the past few years graphite based X-ray masks have been in use at various research centers, but the sidewall quality of the generated resist patterns is in the range of 200-300 nm Ra. We used polished graphite to improve the sidewall roughness, but polished graphite causes other problems in the fabrication of X-ray masks. This paper describes the advantages associated with the use of polished graphite as mask blank as well as the fabrication process for this low cost X-ray mask. Alternative membrane materials will also be discussed.

Application of optical lithography for high aspect ratio microstructures

Interest in thick photoresist applications is steadily growing. Besides the bump fabrication and wire interconnect technology, the process of patterning thick layer photoresists by UV lithography is specially qualified for applications in micro electro mechanical systems. Specialized equipment and new photoresists have been developed or are under development to cope with the new challenges in the field of preparing extremely thick photoresist layers, to plan the process of patterning these thick resists, and to deal with the difficulties of the following galvanoplating step. A technology called three‐dimensional (3D) UV‐microforming was developed, consisting of a resist preparation process for very thick photoresists (positive or negative tone), UV lithographic steps, resist development, moulding procedures by galvanodeposition, and finally stripping and cleaning for finishing the structures. A minimum width of 3 μm for the resist bars was found to be necessary to withstand the fabrication process of line...

Generation and Characterization of Super-Hydrophobic Micro- and Nano-structured Surfaces

Here we describe the use of a backside exposure method for the creation of high aspect ratio tapered microstructures with nano-porous sidewalls. These sidewalls result from the exposure and curing conditions of the SU8 matrix. The structures show ultra-hydrophobic behavior with water contact angles of more than 160°, without an additional coating of the SU8 polymer. By choosing appropriate exposure conditions, needlelike structures can be created with a high level of porosity, covering their entire surface. The contact angle hysteresis values of such structures lie in the range of 20°. After an additional deposition of smooth and thin metallic gold film and coating it with an alkyl thiol selfassembled monolayer (SAM), we were able to decrease this hysteresis to values of around 10°. By using thin and rough metallic films like wet chemically oxidized titanium oxide and a fluoralkylsilane SAM, the hysteresis values could be reduced to only 4°.

Borosilicate-glass-based x-ray masks for LIGA microfabrication

During the past few years, graphite based X-ray masks have been in use at CAMD and BESSY to build a variety of high aspect ratio microstructures and devices where low side wall surface roughness is not needed In order to obtain lower sidewall surface roughness while maintaining the ease of fabrication of the graphite based X-ray masks, the use of borosilicate glass was explored. A borosilicate glass manufactured by Schott Glas (Mainz, Germany) was selected due to its high purity and availability in ultra-thin sheets (30 μm). The fabrication process of the X-ray masks involves the mounting of a 30 μm glass sheet to either a stainless steel ring at room temperature or an invar ring at an elevated temperature followed by resist application, lithography, and gold electroplating. A stress free membrane is obtained by mounting the thin glass sheet to a stainless steel ring, while mounting on an invar ring at an elevated temperature produces a pre-stressed membrane ensuring that the membrane will remain taut during X-ray exposure. X-ray masks have been produced by using both thick negative- and positive-tone photoresists. The membrane mounting, resist application, lithography, and gold electroplating processes have been optimized to yield X-ray masks with absorber thicknesses ranging from 10 μm to 25 μm. Poly(methyl methacrylate) layers of 100 μm to 400 μm have been successfully patterned using the glass membrane masks.

Influence of resist-baking on the pattern quality of thick photoresists

Interest in thick photoresist applications is steadily growing. Besides the bump fabrication and wire interconnect technology, the process of patterning thick layer photoresists by UV lithography is specially qualified for applications in microelectro-mechanical-systems (MEMS). Specialized equipment and new photoresists have been developed or are under development to cope with the new challenges in the field of preparing extremely thick photoresist layers, the process of patterning these thick resists, and to deal with the difficulties of the following galvanoplating step. As one of the most critical steps in thick photoresists processing, the baking procedure was investigated. Two positive tone photoresists were processed by means of three different baking methods: air-forced oven, ramped hotplate, and IR radiation. Furthermore, combinations between the methods were tested. It could be shown that IR baking is advantageous compared to the other methods with respect to process duration and energy consumption. Compared to edge steepness, resolution, edge loss, and surface roughness, all methods deliver nearly same results. A minimum width of 2-3 micrometers for the resist bars was found to be necessary to withstand the fabrication process of lines and spaces in about 15 micrometers thick resist. For thicker layers high aspect ratios of more than 10 as well as steep edges of more than 88 degrees could be fabricated. The resist patterns can be molded by using electroplating.

Scatterometry reference standards to improve tool matching and traceability in lithographical nanomanufacturing

High quality scatterometry standard samples have been developed to improve the tool matching between different scatterometry methods and tools as well as with high resolution microscopic methods such as scanning electron microscopy or atomic force microscopy and to support traceable and absolute scatterometric critical dimension metrology in lithographic nanomanufacturing. First samples based on one dimensional Si or on Si3N4 grating targets have been manufactured and characterized for this purpose. The etched gratings have periods down to 50 nm and contain areas of reduced density to enable AFM measurements for comparison. Each sample contains additionally at least one large area scatterometry target suitable for grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering. We present the current design and the characterization of structure details and the grating quality based on AFM, optical, EUV and X-Ray scatterometry as well as spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements. The final traceable calibration of these standards is currently performed by applying and combining different scatterometric as well as imaging calibration methods. We present first calibration results and discuss the final design and the aimed specifications of the standard samples to face the tough requirements for future technology nodes in lithography.