Utilization of Resist Stencil Lithography for Multidimensional Fabrication on a Curved Surface

Abstract

The limited ability to fabricate nanostructures on nonplanar rugged surfaces has severely hampered the applicability of many emerging technologies. Here we report a resist stencil lithography based approach for in situ fabrication of multidimensional nanostructures on both planar and uneven substrates. By using the resist film as a flexible stencil to form a suspending membrane with predesigned patterns, a variety of nanostructures have been fabricated on curved or uneven substrates of diverse morphologies on demand. The ability to realize 4 in. wafer scale fabrication of nanostructures as well as line width resolution of sub-20 nm is also demonstrated. Its extraordinary capacity is highlighted by the fabrication of three-dimensional wavy nanostructures with diversified cell morphologies on substrates of different curvatures. A robust general scheme is also developed to construct various complex 3D nanostructures. The use of conventional resists and processing ensures the versatility of the method. Such an in situ lithography technique has offered exciting possibilities to construct nanostructures with high dimensionalities that can otherwise not be achieved with existing nanofabrication methods.

Fabricating 3D Metastructures by Simultaneous Modulation of Flexible Resist Stencils and Basal Molds

“…In reality, versatile 3D fabrication of high‐quality metastructures demands a method to combine all of the abovementioned aspects together, including high‐resolution, 3D controllability, and compatibility to a broad selection of materials. Recent progress on stencil lithography [ 26,27 ] and membrane projection [ 28 ] sheds some light into this goal by demonstrating a successful fabrication of certain 3D microstructures but the methods still lack sufficient triaxial modulation, which is required for the fabrication of designed 3D metastructures with high degree of flexibility.…”

Evolution of High Symmetry Points of Photonic Alumina Superlattices in a Lithography-Free Approach

“…From the perspective of ordered nanostructures prepared with different lattices, the conventional methods include electronic beam lithography (EBL), focused ion beam (FIB) lithography, laser processing, nanoimprinting, self-assembly, template-assisted deposition, , etc. Among them, artificial nanostructures can be prepared and arranged by EBL and FIB, but the effective sample area is not suited for practical application in nanophotonics.…”

Simple Self-Assembly Strategy of Nanospheres on 3D Substrate and Its Application for Enhanced Textured Silicon Solar Cell

“…Although substantial advances have been made, control over nanofabrication on complex 3D surfaces is still very challenging [ 7 ]. Top-down strategies, such as electron beam lithography and focused ion beam, show some difficulties in the fabrication on 3D substrates limited by the inherent process characteristics of photoresist coating or beam focus [ 24 ]. Self-assembly methods, using colloidal nanoparticles as building blocks, show great potential in assembling nanostructures on 3D substrates [ 18 ].…”