The AZ 5214E Resist in EBDW Lithography and its Use as a RIE Etch–Mask in Etching Thin Ag Layers in N2 Plasma

Abstract

In this article we describe the electron-beam direct-write (EBDW) lithography process for the AZ 5214E photoresist which is, besides its sensitivity to UV radiation, sensitive also to electrons. An adapted process flow is provided. At the same time we examine the resistance of this resist to RIE and its suitability as an etch-mask for etching thin Ag layers in N 2 plasma. A comparison with several chosen resists (PMMA, ma-2405, ma-N 1402, SU-8 2000 is provided.K e y w o r d s: AZ 5214E resist,

Deposition of Ag/a-C:H nanocomposite films with Ag surface enrichment

“…Nitrogen was chosen because plasma activated nitrogen species may induce the release of low‐molar‐mass volatile compounds upon their chemical interactions with the organic matrix . However, the kinetics of chemical reactions with silver is much slower at room temperature . Substrates were placed on the RF electrode and the etching conditions were set as follows: N 2 pressure 2.5 Pa, RF power 16 W (continuous mode) with corresponding negative self‐bias 150 V. The etching rate of the matrix without any NPs was found to be 5 nm/min.…”

Nanobridges formed through electron beam image reversal lithography for plasmonic mid-infrared resonators with high aspect ratio nanogaps

“…Replacing electron-beam resists with UV photoresists has been shown to give advantages, such as in their much higher sensitivities to electron-beam exposure which are essential for patterning over large writing fields [22][23][24][25][26][27]. Among these UV photoresists, AZ5214E is found to be a versatile photoresist as it can be made into a positive-tone or a negative-tone resist depending on the specific combinations of UV exposure and heat treatment [28,29].…”

“…Among these UV photoresists, AZ5214E is found to be a versatile photoresist as it can be made into a positive-tone or a negative-tone resist depending on the specific combinations of UV exposure and heat treatment [28,29]. Recently AZ 5214E UV photoresist has been explored for e-beam lithography [25] and other types of lithography based on laser interference and near-field scanning optical microscopy, with reported resolution in the submicron range [30,31]. In this paper, we propose a nanofabrication technique which can operate as a positive, negative, or image-reversal (IR) tone depending on the specific combinations of the electron beam and UV exposures and heat.…”