Method of performing lithography using cantilever array
US5666190A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 4, 1995 |
| Grant date | Sep 9, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 4, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S977/857
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A lithography system includes a plurality of cantilevers, preferably formed in a silicon wafer. Each cantilever includes a tip located near the free end of the cantilever and an electrical conduction path which extends along the length of the cantilever to the tip. A switch is included in the conduction path to control the voltage at the tip of the cantilever. The array of such cantilevers is positioned adjacent a wafer which is to be patterned, in the manner of an atomic force microscope operating in either the contact or noncontact mode. The cantilever array is scanned over the wafer, preferably in a raster pattern, and the individual switches are operated so as to control an electric current or electric field at the tip of each cantilever. The electric current or field is used to write a pattern on a layer of resist coating the wafer or on the surface of the wafer itself. Alternatively, the lithographic pattern may be formed by using the tip to scribe lines in a thin layer of soft material coating the wafer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.