Stanford SNSF
Stanford Nano Shared Facilities
Stanford Nano Shared Facilities

EBL: Electron Beam Lithography

Jump To: Overview | Contact Information | Research Examples | Getting Started and Training Information | Resources

Overview

The goal of the Nanopatterning Cleanroom is to provide researchers access to a state-of-the-art facility to meet their nano-scale fabrication challenges. Therefore, e-beam lithography is at the heart of our NPC user facility as the technology provides versatile, effective and economic solutions. NPC offers two 100 kV Raith EBPG 5200+ e-beam lithography systems.

 

Contact Information

nano-ebeam-staff@lists.stanford.edu
Rich Tiberio
Stanley Lin
Doc Daugherty

Research Examples

Exposure: ZEP resist, 100 kV JEOL e-beam, 40 nm grating with ~ 8 nm lines. Image: low voltage SEM image of polymer resist at 100 kX mag. Image courtesy of Tiberio (Stanford).
Photonic crystal crossbeam structures in GaAs. Fabrication: ZEP resist 100KV JEOL ebeam, followed by PlasmaQuest chlorine etch and HF sacrificial layer (AlGaAs) removal. Image: Low voltage SEM image. Scale bars 200, 10 and 2 microns. Sonia Buckley (Vuckovic group).

Getting Started and Training Information

In order to become a qualified user of any of the EBL tools, you need to follow each of these steps in the order as listed here:

  1. Complete the process to become a lab member of SNSF and follow the instructions to activate a Badger account.
  2. Complete the process to become a Nanopatterning Cleanroom user.
  3. Get qualified on the wet benches. Solvent and spinner benches are required so you're able to spin on your resist. Corrosive benches are required for development, if you will be using maN or HSQ resists.
  4. Review the Resources section below for an introduction to EBL and its capabilities.
  5. Pass (80%) a 10-question quiz that reviews e-beam lithography basics and safety: E-beam Lithography Review Quiz.
  6. Complete the EBL New User Intake Form (second part of the quiz above).
  7. Sign up for an open slot on the EBL Training Calendar (sent to you by email after completing the New User Intake Form).

Each EBL system requires its own hands-on training session because the training is based on operating a specified tool. The training is not a primer to nanofabrication. Although help is always available, you are expected to have an adequate understanding of nanofabrication principles and your processing needs. Please see the Resources section below.

Note: Consider training for the different equipment often associated with e-beam lithography processing. SNSF Nanopatterning Cleanroom has wet benches (including a spinner), a SEM, RIE and evaporator. SNSF Flexible Cleanroom offers a sputtering tool and an ion mill.

Additional Staff Consulting / Advanced Trainings

The following additional or advanced feature trainings can be scheduled after you are a qualified user. To request additional training, email nano-ebeam-staff@lists.stanford.edu to schedule a consultation.

  • General EBL Processing for Optimizing Pattern Transfer for Lift-off/Etch, Troubleshooting, Failure Analysis, Optical Microscopy and SEM.
  • Alignment Strategy
  • Optimizing Marker Search Types and Parameters for difficult to find markers
  • Transparent Substrates
  • Advanced BEAMER Modules - Multi-pass for Smooth Line Edge Roughness (LER), Over-Dose-Under-Size (ODUS) for Small Close-Packed features, Optimizing Writing Order, Minimizing Stitching Errors, etc
  • TRACER Montecarlo Simulation for Proximity Effect Correction (PEC)
  • Python for BEAMER, CJOB, GDS
  • Wafer-scale Exposure
  • Any other specific feature assistance

Resources

E-Beam Lithography specific to SNSF Nanopatterning Cleanroom:  
EBL – A Practical Guide 
PMMA Spin Curves (Old Headway Spinner)
Apogee Spin Data

Online SEM edX course, from Nano@Stanford, Electron Beam Lithography module.

NNCI EBL Catalog