An Investigation on High-resolution Nanopatterning Techniques

Abstract

Achieving the highest possible resolution and dense nanopatterns is the goal of many nanotechnology industries. Novel aspects of electron beam lithography (EBL), block copolymer (BCP) self-assembly and nanoimprint lithography (NIL), which are three most promising methods that complement each other in achieving this objective, are investigated in this thesis. We discuss about the EBL and show how increasing the mechanical strength helps in achieving high-resolution dense nanopatterns. Also, we use the directed BCP self-assembly to increase the throughput of the nanofabrication process. Directed BCP self-assembly suffers from several issues such as achieving only one morphology on a single substrate, and hard to fabricate three-dimensional structures. We show that functionalization of the posts using majority block can solve these issues. Also we show by using sacrificial post templating method, the problem of incorporation of the template inside the final BCP nanopatterns can be solved. Finally, we report the reverse NIL study at nanoscale.