title: Metallic resist for phase-change lithography.
abstract: Currently, the most widely used photoresists in optical lithography are organic-based resists. The major limitations of such resists include the photon accumulation severely affects the quality of photolithography patterns and the size of the pattern is constrained by the diffraction limit. Phase-change lithography, which uses semiconductor-based resists such as chalcogenide Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ films, was developed to overcome these limitations. Here, instead of chalcogenide, we propose a metallic resist composed of Mg₅₈Cu₂₉Y₁₃ alloy films, which exhibits a considerable difference in etching rate between amorphous and crystalline states. Furthermore, the heat distribution in Mg₅₈Cu₂₉Y₁₃ thin film is better and can be more easily controlled than that in Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ during exposure. We succeeded in fabricating both continuous and discrete patterns on Mg₅₈Cu₂₉Y₁₃ thin films via laser irradiation and wet etching. Our results demonstrate that a metallic resist of Mg₅₈Cu₂₉Y₁₃ is suitable for phase change lithography, and this type of resist has potential due to its outstanding characteristics.
authors.affiliation: 1] Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Bi Jian
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: 1] Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Jun Zhu
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: 1] Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Ri Wen
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.affiliation: 1] Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Nian Nian
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: 1] Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: 1] Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Yang Zhi
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: 1] Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: 1] Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, LuoYu Road, Wuhan 430074, China [3] Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Xiang Shui
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Miao