Fabrication of micrometer-scale structures on GaAs and GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well material using microcontact printing

Abstract

Microcontact printing (CP) was used in conjunction with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of hexadecanethiolates to fabricate gold etch masks on GaAs and GaAs/AlGaAs quantum-well substrates; patterns in the mask were transferred into the semiconductor with an anisotropic dry chemical-etch process. The measured luminescence efficiency of the etched features in GaAs/AlGaAs was similar to that of samples patterned using conventional lithography; this observation indicates that no mechanical or chemical damage is incurred in the CP process.

Soft Lithography

“…The patterned structures of metals formed using a combination of µCP and selective etching can be used directly as arrays of microelectrodes or as diffractive optical components (84). They can also be used as secondary masks in the etching of the underlying substrates such as SiO 2 , Si, and GaAs using wet etches or RIE (130)(131)(132). Figure 3 (g,h) shows SEM images of microstructures that were generated in Si using anisotropic etching of Si 100 with patterns of Ag (44) or Au (133) as the masks.…”

Small is Beautiful: Challenges and Perspectives of Nano/Meso/Microscience

“…Another game changer was the development of nanorods of metals and semiconductors as a new tectonic unit to use the shape specific effects for physical measurements and devices by Lieber in 1995 The concept of soft lithography and microcontact printing developed by Whitesides in 1996, which represents no less than the “democratization” of lithography; now, such structures can be made in more simple environments, simplifying microstructure experiments and materials …”

“…[ 16 ] • The concept of soft lithography and microcontact printing developed by Whitesides in 1996, which represents no less than the "democratization" of lithography; now, such structures can be made in more simple environments, simplifying microstructure experiments and materials. [ 17,18 ] Each of these observations was, in my opinion, potentially infl uenced by the "Zeitgeist", fruits to be picked and ripened independently in a number of heads, often simultaneously. However, all these selected cases changed the possibilities of the sciences and, as such, constitute the base a journal such as Small can be built upon.…”

Physical and Chemical Nanolithography Techniques: Challenges and Prospects

“…The ink forms a patterned SAM of about 2-3 nm thickness, at these areas, which is utilized as a structure or a resist mask to selectively remove material from non-protected areas, due to the strong contrast in the etching rate between protected and unprotected areas. 38 |j.CP has been used for patterning Au, 38 Ag, 40 Cu, 41 Pd, 42 semiconductors as Si, 43 GaAs, 44 ZnSe, 45 oxides such as Si0 2 , Ti0 2 , Al 2 0 3 (either as bulk material or native oxides of Si, Ti, and Al), 46 ' 47 transparent electrically conductive materials as indium tin oxide (ITO), and indium zinc oxide (IZO). 48 Using a thin film of any of the above materials as a mask for dry or wet chemical etching, it is possible to transfer the pattern to other kinds of substrates, thus extending the field of potential applications of uCP.…”