BOE etching of SiO2 with CSAR 62 mask
Even the highly sensitive e-beam resist CSAR 62 can be used as mask for an etching process with HF (BOE, 10:1).
Utilising Electra 92 for SEM applications
The coating with Electra 92 on highly electrically insulating polymers or also on glass allowed a high-quality imaging of nanostructures in SEM.
Manufacture of plasmonic nanostructures with CSAR 62
These nanostructures may e.g. serve as optical antennas for the detection of single molecules. To avoid the undesirable charges on the quartz substrate, Electra 92 was used successfully.
CSAR 62 – Experimental studies on new, sensitive developers
CSAR 62 layers can also be patterned by intensive exposure to UV light. Irradiated films were in this experiment developed with different solvents and the observed sensitivities were compared with each other.
CSAR 62 – Development at low temperatures
The sensitivity of CSAR 62 is strongly influenced by the choice of the developer. In comparison to the standard developer AR 600-546, the sensitivity can be increased almost tenfold if AR 600-548 is used instead.
CSAR structures on glass
The use of a combination of CSAR 62 and the conductive coating Electra 92 in e-beam lithography allows the manufacture of highly complex structures on insulating glass or semi-insulating substrates such as e.g. gallium arsenide.
PMMA lift-off structures on semi-precious stone substrates using Electra 92
Semi-precious stones like sapphire or garnet increasingly gain in importance as substrates for semiconductor industry. Even though these materials have insulating properties, a patterning with electron beam lithography is nevertheless possible with the help of Electra.
Electra 92 variant optimised for applications on novolac-based resists
Novolac-based e-beam resists have other surface properties than e.g. CSAR 62, PMMA, or HSQ resists. Due to a higher solvent content of the conductive resist as for example is the case with SX AR-PC 5000/90.2, these novolac-resists are already moderately attacked.
Conductivity under the application conditions of e-beam lithography
The measured conductivity of resist layers is strongly influenced not only by the temperature but also directly dependent on the air humidity. After a softbake, the now almost anhydrous layer gradually takes up water at room temperature from the ambient air due to the slightly hygroscopic properties of the polymer.
Long-term stability of Electra 92
To assess the long-term stability of Electra 92 (SX AR-PC 5000/90.2), two reference samples were coated on glass (300 rpm, 3 min, softbake at 85 °C for 30 min in the oven) after different storage times of 15 months and 3 months, respectively (refrigerator, 8 °C).