Understanding resolution limit of Displacement Talbot Lithography

Pierre Chausse, Emmanuel Le Boulbar, Szymon Lis, Philip Shields

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Citations (SciVal)
8 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Displacement Talbot lithography (DTL) is a new technique for patterning large areas with sub-micron periodic features with low cost. It has applications in fields that cannot justify the cost of deep-UV photolithography, such as plasmonics, photonic crystals, and metamaterials and competes with techniques, such as nanoimprint and laser interference lithography. It is based on the interference of coherent light through a periodically patterned photomask. However, the factors affecting the technique’s resolution limit are unknown. Through computer simulations, we show the mask parameter’s impact on the features’ size that can be achieved and describe the separate figures of merit that should be optimized for successful patterning. Both amplitude and phase masks are considered for hexagonal and square arrays of mask openings. For large pitches, amplitude masks are shown to give the best resolution; whereas, for small pitches, phase masks are superior because the required exposure time is shorter. We also show how small changes in the mask pitch can dramatically affect the resolution achievable. As a result, this study provides important information for choosing new masks for DTL for targeted applications.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5918-5930
Number of pages13
JournalOptics Express
Volume27
Issue number5
Early online date20 Feb 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Mar 2019

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

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