10 nm electron beam lithography and sub-50 nm overlay using a modified scanning electron microscope

Abstract

Gratings of 10 nm wide metal lines 30 nm apart, and quantum transistor gates with 10 nm wide gaps over 300 nm long between two metal rectangles have been repeatedly achieved on thick GaAs substrates using a modified scanning electron microscope operated at 35 keV and liftoff of Ni/Au. Furthermore, multilevel electron beam lithography with a standard deviation (3σ) of an overlay accuracy (30 deviation) of 50 nm has been achieved using the same modified scanning electron microscope.