Storex Disclosed Quantum Optical Lithography Technique

In a paper presented at SPIE Advanced Lithography 2012 in February, Storex Technologies, Inc. disclosed a novel optical lithography technique which it claims offers a resolution of 2nm half-pitch lines.

In its 2nm Quantum Optical Lithography presentation, the company details a quantum optical method to do sub-wavelength lithography, achievable using existing technology.

Using atomic force microscope (AFM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM, STEM, HRTEM) measurements, Dr. Eugen Pavel, CEO of Storex Technologies and his team from Agilent Technologies Inc., Politehnica University of Bucharest, three research institutes from Romania National Institute for R&D of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, National Institute for R&D in Microtechnologiesand Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, have demonstrated that 2nm half-pitch lines could be written in novel materials such as fluorescent photosensitive glass-ceramics, relying on a quantum multi-photon confinement effect.

The researchers focused a 650nm wavelength laser diode beam to write high-density lines (3D patterning) on the novel materials at room temperature far beyond the diffraction limit, a fundamental barrier to the exploitation of optical lithography.

This direct laser writing process (without any annealing process) involves quantum nonlinear effects which could enable full-wafer-level nanofabrication at a 2nm half-pitch resolution, with demonstrated channel depths ranging from 1.5 to 5nm.

Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) and electron beam lithography (EBL) with multiple beams (REBL, PML2) are considered the front runners to succeed current optical lithography. The introduction of EUV into volume manufacturing is expected to be in production at the 22-nm half-pitch node in 2012.

Storex and Agilent announce their continuing collaboration on analyzing these ultra-thin lines at the frontiers of structural resolution in material science.

Storex Technologies, founded in 2007, develops materials – fluorescent photosensitive glass-ceramics and systems – for petabyte 3D optical data storage and optical nanolithography.