Electron-beam patterned calibration structures for structured illumination microscopy

Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy can be achieved by image reconstruction after spatially patterned illumination or sequential photo-switching and read-out. Reconstruction algorithms and microscope performance are typically tested using simulated image data, due to a lack of strategies to pattern complex fluorescent patterns with...

Structured illumination microscopy with noise-controlled image reconstructions

Super-resolution structured illumination microscopy (SIM) has become a widely used method for biological imaging. Standard reconstruction algorithms, however, are prone to generate noise-specific artifacts that limit their applicability for lower signal-to-noise data. Here we present a physically realistic noise model that explains the...

Combined focused electron beam-induced deposition and etching for the patterning of dense lines without interconnecting material

High resolution dense lines patterned by focused electron beam-induced deposition (FEBID) have been demonstrated to be promising for lithography. One of the challenges is the presence of interconnecting material, which is often carbonaceous, between the lines as a result of the Gaussian line profile. We demonstrate the use of focused electron...

A study of the reproducibility of electron beam induced deposition for sub-20 nm lithography

The potential of Electron Beam Induced Deposition (EBID) to become a reliable and reproducible direct-write nanopatterning technique has been investigated. A key requirement is that patterns of sub-20 nm dimension can be reproducibly fabricated and measured. EBID was used for the controlled fabrication of sub-20 nm dense lines on bulk silicon...

Charged particle single nanometre manufacturing

Following a brief historical summary of the way in which electron beam lithography developed out of the scanning electron microscope, three state-of-the-art charged-particle beam nanopatterning technologies are considered. All three have been the subject of a recently completed European Union Project entitled "Single Nanometre Manufacturing:...

High resolution resist-free lithography in the SEM

Focussed Electron Beam Induced Processing is a high resolution direct-write nanopatterning technique. Its ability to fabricate sub-10 nm structures together with its versatility and ease of use, in that it is resist-free and implementable inside a Scanning Electron Microscope, make it attractive for a variety of applications in nanofabrication....

Electron beam induced deposition of silacyclohexane and dichlorosilacyclohexane: The role of dissociative ionization and dissociative electron attachment in the deposition process

We present first experiments on electron beam induced deposition of silacyclohexane (SCH) and dichlorosilacyclohexane (DCSCH) under a focused high-energy electron beam (FEBID). We compare the deposition dynamics observed when growing pillars of high aspect ratio from these compounds and we compare the proximity effect observed for these...

Focused Electron Beam Induced Deposition of 1,1-dichloro-1-silacyclohexane, silacyclohexane and 1,3,5-trisilacyclohexane: Preliminary study on the role of low energy secondary electrons in the deposition process

To study the potential role of low energy secondary electrons in focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID) we have studied FEBID using 1,1-dichloro-1-silacyclohexane, silacyclohexane and 1,3,5-trisilacyclohexane. While the first of these compounds shows appreciable cross sections for dissociative electron attachment (DEA) in the gas phase...

Size and shape control of sub-20 nm patterns fabricated using focused electron beam-induced processing

In a first study to analyze the feasibility of electron beam-induced deposition (EBID) for creating certain patterns in advanced lithography, line patterns were fabricated on silicon wafers using EBID. The growth conditions were such that the growth rate is fully determined by the electron flux (the current limited growth regime). It is...