title: High-speed maskless nanolithography with visible light based on photothermal localization.
abstract: High-speed maskless nanolithography is experimentally achieved on AgInSbTe thin films. The lithography was carried out in air at room temperature, with a GaN diode laser (λ = 405 nm), and on a large sample disk of diameter 120 mm. The normal width of the written features measures 46 ± 5 nm, about 1/12 of the diffraction allowed smallest light spot, and the lithography speed reaches 6 ~ 8 m/s, tens of times faster than traditional laser writing methods. The writing resolution is instantaneously tunable by adjusting the laser power. The reason behind the significant breakthrough in terms of writing resolution and speed is found as the concentration of light induced heat. Therefore, the heat spot is far smaller than the light spot, so does the size of the written features. Such a sharp focus of heat occurs only on the selected writing material, and the phenomenon is referred as the photothermal localization response. The physics behind the effect is explained and supported with numerical simulations.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of High-Density Optical Storage, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201800, China.
authors.forename: Jingsong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of High-Density Optical Storage, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201800, China.
authors.forename: Kui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of High-Density Optical Storage, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201800, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of High-Density Optical Storage, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201800, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of High-Density Optical Storage, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201800, China.
authors.forename: Yiqun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, km. 107 Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California, CP 22860, México.
authors.forename: Mufei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xiao