Xie Changqing

Phase zone photon sieve

A novel diffractive optical element, named phase zone photon sieve (PZPS), is presented. There are three kinds of phase plates in PZPSs: PZPS1, PZPS2, and PZPS3. Each of the PZPSs has its own structure and is made on quartz substrate by etching. The three PZPSs have stronger diffraction peak intensity than a photon sieve (PS) when the margin pinhole and zone line width are kept the same. The PZPS3 can produce a smaller central diffractive spot than the ordinary PS with the same number of zones on the Fresnel zone plate. We have given the design method for and the simulation of PZPS and PS. PZPS has potential applications in optical maskless lithography.

Fabrication and Characterization of Si Nanocrystals Synthesized by Electron Beam Evaporation of Si and SiO2 Mixture

Silicon nanocrystals synthesized by electron beam (e-beam) evaporation of Si and SiO2 mixture are studied. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry of the as-deposited Si-rich silicon dioxide or oxide (SRO) thin film shows that after evaporation, the Si and SiO2 concentration is well kept, indicating that the e-beam evaporation is suitable for evaporating mixtures of Si and SiO2. The SRO thin films are annealed at different temperatures for two hours to synthesize silicon nanocrystals. For the sample annealed at 1050°C, silicon nanocrystals with different sizes and the mean diameter of 4.5 nm are evidently observed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Then the Raman scattering and photoluminescence spectra arising from silicon nanocrystals are further confirmed the above results.

Fabrication of 11-nm-Wide Silica-Like Lines Using X-Ray Diffraction Exposure

Fine silica-like lines with 11 nm width are successfully fabricated using x-ray Fresnel diffraction exposure. X-rays pass a mask of 175-nm-wide lines and 125-nm-wide spaces and form sharp peaks on a wafer coated with a layer of hydrogen silsesquioxane resist (HSQ). By precisely controlling the mask-wafer gap at 10 μm using the laser interferogram method, the fine structures are defined on HSQ. Experimental images are reproduced by a simulation using the one-dimensional beam propagation method. This lithographic technique presents a novel and convenient way to fabricate fine silica-like structures and devices in nano-optical and nanoelectronic applications.

Study of process of HSQ in electron beam lithography

As a kind of inorganic negative-tone resist in electron beam lithography, hydrogen silsesquioxane(HSQ) has a high pattern resolution of about 5 nm, but the poor sensitivity limits its extensive application in the field of micro-fabrication. Its very difficult to fabricate the high aspect-ratio dense resist pattern for HSQ because of backscattering electrons and proximity effect. The methods by optimizing process condition are proposed to improve the contrast of graphic structure of HSQ resist and restrain electron beam proximity effect at the same time. On 450nm thick resist layer, HSQ resist pillar array pattern with 5 aspect-ratio under 50kv voltage and HSQ resist mesh pattern structure with 9 aspect-ratio under 100kv voltage can been achieved with optimization of process condition.

Design, Fabrication and Test of a Soft X-Ray Even-Order Transmission Grating

Most transmission gratings in the x-ray region work with their first orders and dispersion is limited by the line density achievable with current fabrication technology. We present a novel design of a two-dimensional x-ray transmission grating. The grating works with higher dispersion using its second orders, and the influence from first and third orders can be suppressed. A grating according to the novel design is fabricated and its diffraction performance is tested in comparison with a traditional x-ray transmission grating with the same line density. The novel grating could be especially useful when high dispersion is desired while the fabrication of high-density gratings becomes more difficult.