Systems and methods for producing nanostructures over large areas

Abstract

A method and an apparatus print a pattern of periodic features into a photosensitive layer. The methods includes the steps of: providing a substrate bearing the layer, providing a mask, arranging the substrate such that the mask has a tilt angle with respect to the substrate in a first plane orthogonal thereto, and providing collimated light for illuminating the mask pattern so as to generate a transmitted light-field composed of a range of transversal intensity distributions between Talbot planes separated by a Talbot distance so that the transmitted light-field has an intensity envelope in the first plane. The mask is illuminated with the light while displacing the substrate relative to the mask in a direction parallel to the first plane and to the substrate. The tilt angle and the intensity envelope are arranged so that the layer is exposed to an average of the range of transversal intensity distributions.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention generally relates to the field of photolithography for fabricating micro- or nanostructures, and in particular the invention relates to the field of photolithography based on the Taber effect or self-imaging. Background technique [0002] Micro- or nanostructures with feature sizes typically in the range of 10 nm-10 μm are desired for many applications. Such structures should be formed on surfaces whose area varies from a few square millimeters to several square meters. Such applications include flat panel displays and solar panels. [0003] Lithographic techniques for fabricating such structures on large areas have been proposed, for example, nanoimprint lithography using a master and contact photolithography using a roller mask. Nanoimprint lithography requires contact between the mask and the substrate to be printed, and is therefore sensitive to defects since the contact between the master and the substrate degrades the unif...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

A solution to this problem would be to use a smaller area pattern in the mask and employ a step-and-repeat exposure strategy to print on a much larger area on the substrate, but this would require a complex mechanical system in order to perform the exposure and would The subfields are accurately stitched together, and step-by-step motion of the substrate (or mask) is undesirable for high-throughput processes; and even in the case of step-and-repeat exposure schemes, the The size may need to be large in order to limit the number of exposure steps to a reasonable number

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