Three-Dimensional Copper Nanostructure Fabrication via Slanted Plasma Etching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for fabricating three-dimensional copper nanostructures, such as focused ion beam etching, face challenges like ion implantation, lattice defects, and inability to produce large-area structures, making them unsuitable for commercialization.
Innovation Solution
A method involving multi-directional slanted plasma etching using a Faraday cage to form a copper nanostructure array on a large-area specimen, followed by metal plating and chemical mechanical polishing to remove over-plated material and the SiO2 mask, allowing for control of nanostructure diameter and angle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If focused ion beam etching is used to fabricate three-dimensional copper nanostructures, then precise control of etching parameters (ion beam direction, ion flux, ion energy) is achieved, but ion implantation, lattice defects, and inability to produce large-area structures occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical ion beam etching system with a photoresist-based patterning system using photolithography and chemical etching. This substitution eliminates direct ion bombardment and its harmful effects while achieving the desired three-dimensional copper nanostructures through chemical processes instead of physical sputtering
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces photoresist as an intermediary material that mediates the patterning process. The photoresist layer is patterned using photolithography to define the desired structure, then serves as a mask during chemical etching of the copper layer, indirectly achieving the nanostructure formation without direct ion beam interaction with the copper
2Manufacturing precision
If focused ion beam etching is used to fabricate three-dimensional copper nanostructures, then three-dimensional nanostructures are formed, but large-area manufacturing is impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs photolithography and chemical etching techniques that are universally applicable across large substrate areas. These standard semiconductor fabrication methods can process entire wafers or large panels simultaneously, making the process scalable for large-area manufacturing while maintaining the ability to form complex three-dimensional copper nanostructures
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the fabrication process into discrete, independently controllable steps: photoresist coating, photolithographic patterning, chemical etching, and copper deposition. This segmentation allows each step to be optimized and scaled independently, enabling large-area production while maintaining precise control over the final three-dimensional structure geometry
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the fabrication of uniform, large-area three-dimensional copper nanostructures with adjustable diameter and angle, overcoming limitations of conventional techniques and enhancing applicability.
Implementation Method 1
performing multi-directional slanted plasma etching to form a three-dimensional etching structure layer on the specimen
Implementation Method 2
the ions, which are accelerated in the sheath formed horizontally to the surface of the grid, are incident into the cage and then arrive at the substrate
Implementation Method 3
a sheath is formed on the outer surface of the cage, and an electric field is maintained constant therein
Implementation Method 4
an electric field is maintained constant therein
Implementation Method 5
performing plating so that a multi-directional slanted plasma etched portion of the specimen is filled with a metal to form a metal layer
Implementation Method 6
removing an over-plated portion and the SiO2 mask from the metal layer
Data Source
AI summary
This invention relates to a method of fabricating a three-dimensional copper nanostructure, including manufacturing a specimen configured to include a SiO2 mask; performing multi-directional slanted plasma etching to form a three-dimensional etching structure layer on the specimen; performing plating so that a multi-directional slanted plasma etched portion of the specimen is filled with a metal; removing an over-plated portion and the SiO2 mask from the metal layer; and removing a portion of a surface of the specimen other than the metal which is the three-dimensional etching structure layer. In this invention, a uniform copper nanostructure array can be obtained by subjecting a large-area specimen disposed in a Faraday cage to multi-directional slanted plasma etching using high-density plasma, forming a copper film on the etched portion of the specimen, and removing an over-plated copper film and the SiO2 mask, and the diameter of the copper nanostructure can be arbitrarily adjusted, thus attaining high applicability.