Hybrid grating preparation device

Abstract

The utility model discloses a mixed grating preparation device, which comprises a photoetching substrate used for bearing a photoresist layer; the grating mask comprises a plurality of mask areas in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of photoetching areas, and the grating parameter of each mask area is matched with the target exposure parameter of the photoetching area corresponding to each mask area; the exposure assembly is used for emitting a plurality of groups of initial light beams in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of photoetching areas to the grating mask and projecting each group of initial light beams to the mask area corresponding to each group of initial light beams for diffraction so as to form a plurality of groups of exposure light beams projected to the photoresist layer through diffraction; and the developing assembly is used for carrying out developing treatment on the exposed photoresist layer to obtain a photoetching structure with set grating structure distribution. In this way, the variable-parameter and variable-morphology mixed grating preparation process is simplified, and the mixed grating can be produced in a large-batch and low-cost mode.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor, in particular to a mixed grating preparation device. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the optical waveguide product, the surface relief grating containing multiple periods, duty cycles, morphologies and heights is used to enhance the image display effect. However, when preparing the surface relief mixed grating with variable duty cycles, variable periods, variable morphologies and variable heights, it is difficult to realize the preparation of the grating structure in large quantities and at low cost based on the traditional photolithography technology or etching technology. CONTENT OF THE UTILITY MODEL

[0003] The embodiment of the present application provides a mixed grating preparation device, which comprises: a photolithography substrate, which is used for carrying a photoresist layer; a grating mask, which comprises a plurality of mask regions arranged for a plurality of photolithography regions divided in the photoresist layer, the plurality of mask regions correspond to the plurality of photolithography regions one by one, the grating parameters of each mask region match the target exposure parameters of the photolithography region corresponding to each mask region, and the target exposure parameters on at least part of the plurality of photolithography regions are different from the target exposure parameters on other photolithography regions; an exposure assembly, which is used for emitting a plurality of groups of initial light beams corresponding to the plurality of photolithography regions to the grating mask, and projecting each group of initial light beams to the mask region corresponding to each group of initial light beams to diffract, so as to form a plurality of groups of exposure light beams projected to the photoresist layer, the plurality of groups of exposure light beams correspond to the plurality of photolithography regions one by one, and each group of exposure light beams has the target exposure parameters of the photolithography region corresponding to each group of exposure light beams; and a developing assembly, which is used for containing a developing solution and the photoresist layer after exposure, so as to develop the photoresist layer after exposure by using the developing solution, and obtain a photolithography structure with a set grating structure distribution, the grating structure of at least part of the plurality of photolithography regions is different from the grating structure of other photolithography regions.

[0004] Optionally, the exposure assembly comprises a light source and a light modulator; the light source is used for emitting a to-be-modulated light beam; the light modulator is arranged on the light emission direction of the light source, the light modulator comprises a plurality of light modulation regions with light modulation parameters set according to the target exposure parameters of each photolithography region, the light modulator is used for modulating the light intensity and the emission direction of the to-be-modulated light beam projected to each light modulation region, and emitting the plurality of groups of initial light beams corresponding to the plurality of photolithography regions to the grating mask.

[0005] Optionally, the light source comprises a plurality of light emitting units corresponding to the plurality of light modulation regions, each of the light emitting units is configured to emit a light beam to the light modulation region corresponding to the light emitting unit, and at least some of the light emitting units emit light beams with different wavelengths from the light beams emitted by other light emitting units.

[0006] Optionally, the light source is a laser configured to emit a laser beam with a narrow line width.

[0007] Optionally, each of the initial light beams emitted by the exposure assembly is a coherent light beam with a coherence length greater than 1 mm.

[0008] Optionally, the photoetching substrate is further configured to carry a first anti-reflection film layer and a second anti-reflection film layer, the first anti-reflection film layer is arranged on a first surface of the photoresist layer and is configured to absorb light beams reflected by the photoresist layer, and the second anti-reflection film layer is arranged on a second surface of the photoresist layer and is located between the photoetching substrate and the photoresist layer, and is configured to absorb light beams reflected by the photoetching substrate to the photoresist layer.

[0009] Optionally, the hybrid grating preparation device further comprises a film coating assembly configured to coat the photoetching structure with the set grating structure distribution.

[0010] Optionally, the material for coating the photoetching structure is a high-refractive material.

[0011] Optionally, the photoetching substrate comprises an etching substrate and a high-refractive layer, the photoetching structure is arranged on a first surface of the high-refractive layer, the etching substrate is arranged on a second surface of the high-refractive layer, and the hybrid grating preparation device further comprises an etching assembly configured to etch the first surface of the high-refractive layer to remove the photoetching structure and part of the high-refractive layer, thereby obtaining a high-refractive layer matching the grating structure distribution of the photoetching structure.

[0012] Optionally, the hybrid grating preparation device further comprises a glue coating assembly and a pre-baking assembly, the glue coating assembly is configured to coat photoresist on the photoetching substrate, and the pre-baking assembly is configured to pre-bake the photoresist on the photoetching substrate to obtain the photoresist layer.

[0013] In the scheme provided in the application, when the photoresist layer is exposed by using the grating mask and the exposure assembly, for the multiple photoetching regions divided in the photoresist layer, the grating parameters of multiple mask regions in the grating mask are set, and multiple groups of initial light beams emitted to the grating mask by the exposure assembly are set, so that the photoresist layer can be exposed by the exposure light beams obtained by diffraction of each group of initial light beams through the grating mask, and the grating structure containing multiple periods, duty cycles, appearances or heights can be developed, the preparation process of the mixed grating with variable parameters and variable appearances is simplified, and the mixed grating can be mass-produced and produced at low cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the application, the drawings needed in the embodiment description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0015] Figure 1 A flowchart of a mixed grating preparation device provided by an embodiment of the application is shown.

[0016] Figure 2 A flowchart of a mixed grating preparation device provided by another embodiment of the application is shown.

[0017] Figure 3 A structural diagram of an exposure assembly provided by an embodiment of the application is shown.

[0018] Figure 4 A preparation diagram of a grating structure provided by an embodiment of the application is shown.

[0019] Figure 5 A preparation diagram of a grating structure provided by another embodiment of the application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In order to make the person skilled in the art better understand the scheme of the application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the application will be described clearly and completely in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the application, not all. Based on the embodiments in the application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor are within the scope of protection of the application.

[0021] It should be noted that some processes described in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application include multiple operations that appear in a specific order. These operations may not be performed in the order they appear herein, or they may be performed in parallel. Operation numbers such as S110, S120, etc., are merely used to distinguish different operations and do not represent any execution order. Furthermore, these processes may include more or fewer operations, and these operations may be performed sequentially or in parallel. Also, the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments of this application described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, product, or server that includes a series of steps or sub-modules is not necessarily limited to those steps or sub-modules that are explicitly listed, but may include other steps or sub-modules that are not explicitly listed or that are inherent to such process, method, product, or device.

[0022] Please see Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a hybrid grating fabrication apparatus 1 provided in an embodiment of this application is shown. The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus 1 provided in this embodiment includes at least: a photolithography substrate 10, a grating mask 20, an exposure assembly 30, and a development assembly 40.

[0023] In this embodiment, the process for preparing the hybrid grating mainly includes a coating process, a pre-baking process, an exposure process, and a development process.

[0024] Optionally, the photoresist substrate 10 is used to support the photoresist layer 50. By coating liquid photoresist onto the photoresist substrate 10 in the coating process, the photoresist is uniformly distributed across all areas of the photoresist substrate 10. Furthermore, the liquid photoresist is pre-baked in the pre-baking process, thus forming a photoresist layer 50 of uniform thickness on the photoresist substrate 10. The photoresist forming the photoresist layer 50 is mainly composed of a mixture of resins of different materials, photosensitizers, and organic solvents. The resin acts as a binder, and the photosensitizer is a highly photoactive compound whose content in the photoresist is comparable to that of the resin. Both are dissolved in the organic solvent, allowing the photoresist to be preserved in a liquid state. In addition to the above three main components, the photoresist may also contain other additives (such as stabilizers, colorants, surfactants, etc.).

[0025] In this embodiment, during the exposure process, based on the photolithographic structure 51 to be prepared with a predetermined grating structure distribution, since the grating parameters of at least some regions in the photolithographic structure 51 are different from those of other regions, the photoresist layer 50 is divided into multiple photolithographic regions. Based on the grating parameters of each region of the photolithographic structure 51, the target exposure parameters corresponding to each photolithographic region of the photoresist layer 50 during the exposure process are determined. The grating parameters include at least one of duty cycle, period, morphology, and height. When the photoresist layer 50 on the photolithographic substrate 10 is exposed using the grating mask 20 and the exposure assembly 30, the grating parameters of the grating mask 20 and the exposure beam emitted from the exposure assembly 30 are adjusted so that the exposure beam projected onto the photoresist layer 50 exposes the photoresist layer 50 with the target exposure parameters corresponding to each photolithographic region. This allows the photolithographic structure 51 with a predetermined grating structure distribution to be prepared after the photoresist layer 50 is exposed and developed.

[0026] Specifically, for the multiple lithographic regions divided in the photoresist layer 50, the grating mask 20 includes multiple mask regions, and each of the multiple mask regions of the grating mask 20 corresponds one-to-one with the multiple lithographic regions of the photoresist layer 50. Since the grating parameters of the grating mask 20 will affect the period and morphology (such as grating tilt) of the fabricated lithographic structure 51, by designing the grating parameters of each mask region of the grating mask 20, the grating parameters of each mask region are matched with the target exposure parameters of the corresponding lithographic region. The target exposure parameters on at least some of the multiple lithographic regions are different from the target exposure parameters on other lithographic regions.

[0027] Specifically, for the multiple lithographic regions divided by the photoresist layer 50, the exposure assembly 30 emits multiple sets of initial beams, each corresponding to one of the multiple lithographic regions, to the grating mask 20. Since the light intensity of the initial beams will affect the duty cycle and grating height of the fabricated lithographic structure 51, the light intensity of each set of initial beams emitted by the exposure assembly 30 is designed, and each set of initial beams is projected onto the mask region corresponding to each set of initial beams for diffraction, so as to form multiple sets of exposure beams projected onto the photoresist layer 50. The multiple sets of exposure beams correspond one-to-one with the multiple lithographic regions, and each set of exposure beams has the target exposure parameters of the lithographic region corresponding to each set of exposure beams.

[0028] Optionally, the grating mask structure in each mask region can enhance the self-interference diffraction order in the exposure beam projected by the exposure assembly 30 onto the photoresist layer 50 for exposing and forming the lithographic structure 51 to be prepared, and weaken other diffraction orders in the exposure beam not for exposing and forming the lithographic structure 51 to be prepared. Furthermore, the grating mask 20 may include a phase mask, which is used to self-interfere with multiple sets of initial beams emitted by the exposure assembly 30 to form multiple sets of exposure beams for exposing and forming the lithographic structure 51 to be prepared.

[0029] In this embodiment, during the development process, the development assembly 40 is used to develop the exposed photoresist layer 50 on the photolithography substrate 10.

[0030] Optionally, the developing assembly 40 is used to contain the developing solution 41 and the exposed photoresist layer 50, so as to develop the exposed photoresist layer 50 using the developing solution 41 to obtain a photolithographic structure 51 with a set grating structure distribution, wherein the grating structure of at least some of the photolithographic regions is different from the grating structure of other photolithographic regions. The grating structure includes at least one of period, duty cycle, height, and tilt angle.

[0031] In this embodiment, the photoresist layer 50 after pre-baking is exposed, and the exposed photoresist portion will undergo a photochemical reaction. Thus, when developing the photoresist layer 50 on multiple photolithographic areas after exposure:

[0032] If the photoresist is a positive photoresist, after the photoresist layer 50 is exposed after pre-baking, the exposed photoresist on multiple photolithographic areas is removed by the developer 41. That is, the part of the positive photoresist that has undergone photochemical reaction is developed by the developer 41, thereby obtaining a photolithographic structure 51 with a set grating structure distribution.

[0033] If the photoresist is a negative photoresist, after the photoresist layer 50 is exposed after pre-baking, the unexposed photoresist on multiple photolithographic areas is removed by the developer 41. That is, the part of the negative photoresist that has not undergone photochemical reaction is developed by the developer 41, thereby obtaining a photolithographic structure 51 with a set grating structure distribution.

[0034] In this embodiment, when exposing the photoresist layer 50 using the grating mask 20 and the exposure assembly 30, for the multiple photolithographic regions divided in the photoresist layer 50, by setting the grating parameters of multiple mask regions in the grating mask 20 and setting multiple initial beams emitted from the exposure assembly 30 to the grating mask 20, the photoresist layer 50 can be exposed based on the exposure beams obtained by diffraction of each initial beam through the grating mask 20, and a photolithographic structure containing multiple periods, duty cycles, morphologies, or heights can be developed. Furthermore, a hybrid grating structure can be fabricated based on the hybrid photolithographic structure, thereby simplifying the fabrication process of hybrid gratings with varying parameters and deformable morphologies, enabling the hybrid grating to be mass-produced at a high cost.

[0035] Please see Figure 2 , Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a hybrid grating fabrication apparatus according to another embodiment of this application is shown. The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus provided in this embodiment includes at least: a photolithography substrate 10, a grating mask 20, an exposure assembly 30, and a development assembly 40.

[0036] Optionally, the hybrid grating fabrication apparatus further includes a photoresist coating assembly 60 and a pre-baking assembly 70. The photolithography substrate 10 is used to hold the photoresist layer 50. Before the coating process, the photolithography substrate 10 needs to be cleaned and dried so that the liquid photoresist is placed on the cleaned photolithography substrate 10.

[0037] In the photoresist coating process, the photoresist coating component 60 uniformly coats the photoresist onto the photolithography substrate 10, and the photoresist is evenly distributed in each area of ​​the photolithography substrate 10 by spin coating, spraying or other methods.

[0038] In the pre-baking process, the photoresist on the photolithography substrate 10 is pre-baked by the pre-baking assembly 70 to remove at least a portion of the organic solvent in the photoresist layer 50, thereby hardening the liquid photoresist to form a solid photoresist layer 50. The pre-baked photoresist layer 50 has a higher hardness, which reduces the consumption of photoresist in the area during subsequent exposure and development processes, ensuring the uniformity of the photoresist layer 50 thickness across different areas of the photolithography substrate 10 after exposure and development. The key to the pre-baking assembly 70 is controlling the heating temperature and heating time. Too low a heating temperature will prolong the evaporation time of the organic solvent in the photoresist, extending the preparation time of the photoresist layer 50 and affecting yield; too high a heating temperature will cause the solvent on the surface of the photoresist to evaporate faster than the solvent inside, resulting in a rough surface of the pre-baked photoresist layer 50.

[0039] In the exposure process, when the photoresist layer 50 on the photolithography substrate 10 is exposed using the grating mask 20 and the exposure assembly 30, the grating parameters of the grating mask 20 and the exposure beam emitted from the exposure assembly 30 are adjusted so that the exposure beam projected onto the photoresist layer 50 exposes the photoresist layer 50 with the target exposure parameters corresponding to each photolithography area. Since there is a photosensitizer in the photoresist, the part of the photoresist exposed by the exposure beam will undergo a photochemical reaction.

[0040] Optionally, the grating mask 20 includes multiple mask regions set for multiple photolithographic regions divided for the photoresist layer 50. The multiple mask regions correspond one-to-one with the multiple photolithographic regions. The grating parameters of each mask region are matched with the target exposure parameters of the corresponding photolithographic region. The target exposure parameters on at least some of the multiple photolithographic regions are different from the target exposure parameters on other photolithographic regions.

[0041] Optionally, the exposure component 30 emits multiple sets of initial beams, each corresponding to a plurality of photolithographic regions, to the grating mask 20, and projects each set of initial beams onto the mask region corresponding to that set for diffraction, thereby forming multiple sets of exposure beams projected onto the photoresist layer 50. Each set of exposure beams corresponds to a plurality of photolithographic regions, and each set of exposure beams has the target exposure parameters for the corresponding photolithographic region. Each set of initial beams emitted by the exposure component 30 is a coherent beam, and the coherence length of the coherent beam is greater than 1 mm.

[0042] like Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an exposure assembly according to an embodiment of this application is shown. In this embodiment, the exposure assembly 30 includes a light source 31 and a light modulator 32. The light source 31 is used to emit a light beam to be modulated, wherein the light source 31 can be a laser for emitting a narrow linewidth laser beam. The light modulator 32 is disposed in the light emission direction of the light source 31, and the light modulator 32 includes multiple light modulation regions for setting light modulation parameters according to the target exposure parameters corresponding to each photolithography region.

[0043] Optionally, since the light intensity of the initial beam will affect the duty cycle or grating height of the prepared photolithography structure, and the emission direction of the initial beam will affect the morphology (such as tilt angle) of the prepared photolithography structure, the optical modulator 32 modulates the light intensity and emission direction of the beam to be modulated projected to each optical modulation region, and emits multiple sets of initial beams corresponding one-to-one with multiple photolithography regions to the grating mask 20, so that the exposure beam projected to the photoresist layer 50 exposes the photoresist layer 50 with the target exposure parameters corresponding to each photolithography region.

[0044] In some embodiments, the exposure assembly 30 includes a light source 31 that emits a single-wavelength modulated beam and an optical modulator 32, which modulates the modulated beam emitted by the light source 31 to obtain multiple initial beams.

[0045] In other embodiments, the light source 31 in the exposure assembly 30 includes a plurality of light-emitting units, each of which corresponds one-to-one with a plurality of light modulation regions of the light modulator 32. Each light-emitting unit is used to emit a light beam to be modulated to the light modulation region corresponding to each light-emitting unit. At least some of the light-emitting units emit light beams to be modulated with wavelengths different from those emitted by other light-emitting units.

[0046] For example, the light source 31 includes a first light-emitting unit 311, a second light-emitting unit 312, and a third light-emitting unit 313. After the first light-emitting unit 311 emits a first light beam 331 to be modulated, the first light beam 331 is modulated by the light modulator 32 to form a first initial light beam 341 to the first mask region 201. After the first initial light beam 341 is diffracted by the first mask region 201, the diffracted light of different orders interferes to form a first exposure light beam 351. After the first exposure light beam 351 forms a periodic grating-shaped exposure field on the photolithography region 521, the photolithography structure of the first photolithography region 521 is obtained by exposure and development.

[0047] Optionally, after the second light-emitting unit 312 emits the second modulated beam 332, the second modulated beam 332 is modulated by the light modulator 32 to form a second initial beam 342 to the second mask region 202. After the second initial beam 342 is diffracted by the second mask region 202, the diffracted light of different orders self-interferes to form a second exposure beam 352. After the second exposure beam 352 forms a periodic grating-shaped exposure field on the photolithography region 522, the photolithography structure of the second photolithography region 522 is obtained by exposure and development.

[0048] Optionally, after the third light-emitting unit 313 emits the third modulated beam 333, the third modulated beam 333 is modulated by the light modulator 32 to form the third initial beam 343 to the third mask region 203. After the third initial beam 343 is diffracted by the third mask region 203, the diffracted light of different orders self-interferes to form the third exposure beam 353. After the third exposure beam 353 forms a periodic grating-shaped exposure field on the photolithography region 523, the photolithography structure of the third photolithography region 523 is obtained by exposure and development.

[0049] For example, if the grating structure of the first photolithography region 521 is a small-period vertical grating, and the duty cycle of the vertical grating at each position in the first photolithography region 521 is not the same; the grating structure of the second photolithography region 522 is a tilted grating, and the duty cycle of the tilted grating at each position in the second photolithography region 522 is not the same; and the grating structure of the third photolithography region 523 is a large-period vertical grating, and the height of the grating in the third photolithography region 523 is lower than the height of the gratings in the first photolithography region 521 and the second photolithography region 522.

[0050] In this process, the grating parameters of the first mask region 201 corresponding to the first photolithography region 521 concentrate the diffraction order of the first exposure beam 351 at ±1 orders, thereby exposing and developing the photoresist layer 50 to obtain a small-period vertical grating. Similarly, the grating parameters of the second mask region 202 corresponding to the second photolithography region 522 concentrate the diffraction order of the second exposure beam 352 at +1 and +2 orders, thereby exposing and developing the photoresist layer 50 with an obliquely incident beam to obtain a tilted grating. Likewise, the grating parameters of the third mask region 203 corresponding to the third photolithography region 523 result in a vertical grating structure with a larger period. Furthermore, the spatial intensity distribution of the exposure beam can be controlled by the optical modulator 32 to control the duty cycle variation of the grating parameters corresponding to the first and second photolithography regions 521 and 522, thereby achieving variable duty cycle grating fabrication. Additionally, variable height grating structure fabrication can be achieved by controlling the exposure dose of the exposure beam corresponding to the photolithography region; no limitations are imposed here.

[0051] Furthermore, since the exposure beam reflects back and forth between the grating mask 20 and the photoresist substrate 10 during the exposure process, the photoresist substrate 10 also serves to support the first anti-reflection film layer 81 and the second anti-reflection film layer 82. The first anti-reflection film layer 81 is disposed on the first surface of the photoresist layer 50 and is used to absorb the beam reflected by the photoresist layer 50; the second anti-reflection film layer 82 is disposed on the second surface of the photoresist layer 50 and is located between the photoresist substrate 10 and the photoresist layer 50, and is used to absorb the beam reflected from the photoresist substrate 10 to the photoresist layer 50. Thus, by providing the first anti-reflection film layer 81 and the second anti-reflection film layer 82, the reflection of the exposure beam between the grating mask 20 and the photoresist substrate 10 can be avoided, thereby preventing the interference between the reflected beam and the exposure beam from affecting the exposure quality of the photoresist layer 50.

[0052] In the development process, the developing unit 40 is used to hold the developing solution and the exposed photoresist layer 50. The developing unit 40 is used to develop the exposed photoresist layer 50 on the photolithographic substrate 10 to remove part of the photoresist on the photolithographic substrate 10, thereby obtaining a photolithographic structure 51 with a set grating structure distribution.

[0053] It should be noted that the refractive index of the photolithographic structure 51 obtained by exposing and developing the photoresist layer 50 is relatively low. Directly applying the photolithographic structure 51 to the optical waveguide will affect the performance of the diffractive optical waveguide. Therefore, based on the photolithographic structure 51 with the set grating structure distribution, it is also necessary to prepare a grating structure with a high refractive index using a high refractive material.

[0054] As one implementation method, such as Figure 4 As shown, Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the fabrication of a grating structure provided in an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0055] In this embodiment, the hybrid grating fabrication apparatus further includes a coating component 90, which is used to coat the photolithographic structure 51 with a predetermined grating structure distribution on the photolithographic substrate 10 using a high-refractive-index material, thereby forming a photolithographic structure 51 with a high-refractive-index film 53. Thus, based on the fabrication of the photolithographic structure 51 with the predetermined grating structure distribution, a grating structure with a high refractive index can be fabricated simply by coating the photolithographic structure 51, simplifying the fabrication process and reducing costs.

[0056] As one implementation method, such as Figure 5 As shown, Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the fabrication of a grating structure according to another embodiment of this application is shown. In this embodiment, the photolithography substrate includes an etched substrate 11 and a high-refractive-index layer 12. The photolithography structure 51 is located on the first surface of the high-refractive-index layer 12, and the etched substrate 11 is located on the second surface of the high-refractive-index layer 12.

[0057] Optionally, a photolithography structure 51 with a set grating structure distribution is bonded to a high-refractive layer 12 made of a high-refractive material, and an etching assembly 100 is used to use the photolithography structure 51 as a mask to etch the first surface of the high-refractive layer 12 to remove the photolithography structure 51 and part of the high-refractive layer 12.

[0058] Optionally, when etching the high-refractive-index layer 12, if the photolithography structure 51 is used as the etching mask, the photoresist portion is etched first within the same etching time, followed by the etching of the high-refractive-index material beneath the photoresist. Therefore, by using the photolithography structure 51 with a predetermined grating structure distribution as the mask for etching the high-refractive-index layer, a grating structure 54 matching the morphology of the photolithography structure 51 can be etched, resulting in a grating structure 54 with a predetermined grating structure distribution. Since the grating structure 54 with the predetermined grating structure distribution is composed of a high-refractive-index material, using the photolithography structure 51 as a mask allows for the etching of a grating structure 54 with a high refractive index, thus improving the fabrication efficiency of the grating structure 54.

[0059] In this embodiment, when exposing the photoresist layer 50 using the grating mask 20 and the exposure assembly 30, for the multiple photolithographic regions divided in the photoresist layer 50, by setting the grating parameters of multiple mask regions in the grating mask 20 and setting multiple initial beams emitted from the exposure assembly 30 to the grating mask 20, the photoresist layer 50 can be exposed based on the exposure beams obtained by diffraction of each initial beam through the grating mask 20, and a photolithographic structure 51 containing multiple periods, duty cycles, morphologies, or heights can be developed. Furthermore, by using the photolithographic structure 51 as a mask for etching or by depositing a high-refractive-index film on the photolithographic structure 51, a hybrid grating can be further fabricated, thereby simplifying the fabrication process of hybrid gratings with varying parameters and deformable morphologies, enabling the hybrid grating to be mass-produced at a high cost.

[0060] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A hybrid grating fabrication apparatus, characterized in that, The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus includes: A photolithography substrate, wherein the photolithography substrate is used to support a photoresist layer; A grating mask, comprising multiple mask regions configured for multiple photolithographic regions divided by the photoresist layer, wherein each mask region corresponds one-to-one with the multiple photolithographic regions, and the grating parameters of each mask region are matched with the target exposure parameters of the corresponding photolithographic region, wherein the target exposure parameters on at least some of the multiple photolithographic regions are different from the target exposure parameters on other photolithographic regions. An exposure assembly is used to emit multiple sets of initial beams corresponding one-to-one with the plurality of photolithographic regions to the grating mask, and to project each set of initial beams onto the mask region corresponding to each set of initial beams for diffraction, so as to form multiple sets of exposure beams projected onto the photoresist layer. The multiple sets of exposure beams correspond one-to-one with the plurality of photolithographic regions, and each set of exposure beams has the target exposure parameters of the photolithographic region corresponding to each set of exposure beams. A developing assembly is used to contain a developing solution and the exposed photoresist layer, so as to develop the exposed photoresist layer with the developing solution to obtain a photolithographic structure with a set grating structure distribution, wherein the grating structure of at least some of the photolithographic regions is different from the grating structure of other photolithographic regions.

2. The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The exposure assembly includes a light source and a light modulator; The light source is used to emit a beam of light to be modulated; The light modulator is disposed in the light emission direction of the light source. The light modulator includes multiple light modulation regions that set the light modulation parameters according to the target exposure parameters corresponding to each of the photolithography regions. The light modulator is used to modulate the light intensity and emission direction of the light beam to be modulated projected onto each of the light modulation regions, and to emit the multiple sets of initial light beams corresponding one-to-one with the multiple photolithography regions to the grating mask.

3. The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The light source includes multiple light-emitting units, each of which corresponds to a multiple light modulation region. Each light-emitting unit emits a light beam to be modulated to the light modulation region corresponding to that unit. At least some of the light-emitting units emit light beams of different wavelengths than the light beams emitted by other light-emitting units.

4. The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The light source is a laser used to emit a narrow linewidth laser beam.

5. The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each initial beam emitted by the exposure component is a coherent beam, and the coherence length of the coherent beam is greater than 1 mm.

6. The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The photolithography substrate is also used to support the first anti-reflection film layer and the second anti-reflection film layer; The first anti-reflective film layer is disposed on the first surface of the photoresist layer, and the first anti-reflective film layer is used to absorb the light beam reflected by the photoresist layer; The second anti-reflective film is disposed on the second surface of the photoresist layer, and the second anti-reflective film is located between the photolithography substrate and the photoresist layer. The second anti-reflective film is used to absorb the light beam reflected from the photolithography substrate to the photoresist layer.

7. The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus further includes a coating component, which is used to coat the photolithography structure having the set grating structure distribution.

8. The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, The material used to coat the photolithographic structure is a high-refractive-index material.

9. The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The photolithography substrate includes an etched substrate and a high-refractive-index layer. The photolithography structure is located on the first surface of the high-refractive-index layer, and the etched substrate is located on the second surface of the high-refractive-index layer. The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus also includes an etching component. The etching component is used to etch the first surface of the high-refractive-index layer, remove the photolithography structure and part of the high-refractive-index layer, and obtain a high-refractive-index layer that matches the grating structure distribution of the photolithography structure.

10. The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The hybrid grating fabrication apparatus also includes a coating assembly and a pre-baking assembly; The coating assembly is used to coat photoresist onto a photolithography substrate; The pre-baking assembly is used to pre-bake the photoresist on the photolithography substrate to obtain the photoresist layer.

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