Deposition of Cr Atoms Using Switching-Detuning Light Mask for Direct Atom Lithography

Background: As progress on the nanofabrication has made semiconductor developed rapidly, there is an increasing need in precise pitch standards to calibrate the structure of devices at nanoscale. Nano-gratings fabricated by atom lithography are unique and suitable to act as precise pitch standard because its pitch distance is directly traceable to a natural constant. As the scaling down of nano-devices, it is very challenging to double the spatial frequency of nano-grating while keeping the self-traceability in atom lithography. Methods: In this study, the switching-detuning light mask is utilized for Cr atom lithography. During a single deposition process, the standing wave frequency is switching from positive detuning to negative detuning alternatively. Results: Nano-gratings fabricated using switching-detuning light mask is successfully replicated with double spatial frequency and self-traceability. Non-uniformity between neighboring Cr lines shows up with a corrected pitch of 107.15 Conclusion: Non-uniformity is mainly caused by the dipole force discrepancy between positive and negative detuning light mask. Therefore, to increase the high uniformity of nano-gratings, the deposition time of negative detuning should be at least twice as the positive detuning. On the other hand, to reduce the pitch uncertainty, it is necessary to reduce the distance between the atom beam and reflection mirror as close as possible. These two significant optimization designs are promising to increase the spatial frequency doubling performance with high uniformity and accuracy.

Optimization of Nano-Grating Pitch Evaluation Method Based on Line Edge Roughness Analysis

Pitch uncertainty and line edge roughness are among the critical quality attributes of a pitch standard and normally the analyses of these two parameters are separate. The analysis of self-traceable Cr atom lithography nano-gratings shows a positive relevance and sensitivity between LER and evaluated standard deviation of pitch. Therefore, LER can be used as an aided pre-evaluation parameter for the pitch calculation method, such as the gravity center method or the zero-crossing points method. The optimization of the nano-grating evaluation method helps to obtain the accurate pitch value with fewer measurements and provide a comprehensive characterization of pitch standards.

An Atom Laser over Optical Lasers

An atom laser is a coherent state of propagating atoms. They are created out of a Bose Einstein Condensation (BEC) of atoms which are output coupled using various techniques. An optical laser or conventional laser generates a coherent beam of light waves where as an atom laser produces a coherent beam of matter waves. An atom laser will have a major impact on the fields of atom optics, atom lithography and precision measurements.The Himalayan Physics Vol. 4, No. 4, 2013 Page: 99-101 Uploaded date: 12/23/2013