Programmable Technologies for Micro- and Nano-Scale Pattern and Material Transfer and Possible Applications for Control
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Programmable Technologies for Micro- and Nano-Scale Pattern and Material Transfer and Possible Applications for Control of Self-Assembly David J. Nagel Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The George Washington University 2033 K Street NW (Suite 340J), Washington DC 20052, U. S. A. ABSTRACT Programmable methods for transferring materials to surfaces in patterns can produce structures with micrometer and nanometer scale features. All such technologies involve combinations of information, materials and energy. The materials in additive technologies can originate in the vapor phase, as liquids or suspensions, or as solids. The energy can come from laser, electron or ion beams, or the pressures used in writing, dispensing, jetting or flow methods. Many of the programmable techniques do not require high temperatures, so they can be used to make fine-scale structures of organic and bio-materials, and even live biologicals. Quantitative comparisons of both additive and subtractive programmable methods show that only a few, based on electron or ion beams, or on proximal probes, are capable of making nanometer-scale structures. Assembly methods, notably self- and directed-assembly, should prove to be central to the realization of manufacturable nanotechnology. Programmable deposition technologies may be used to supply materials for, and otherwise control self-assembly processes. The four sets of technologies, namely masked lithography, direct-write techniques, self-assembly and directedassembly, provide a versatile and powerful toolbox for making micro-and nano-meter scale devices and systems.
INTRODUCTION Many programmable, data-driven, so-called "direct-write", technologies for producing fine-scale lines on work pieces have been developed in the past decade. The person designing a process flow for the production of some device or system containing micro- or nano-scale features now has many tools at their disposal. These tools are widely applicable for the production of micro-electronics, -magnetics, -optics and -mechanics (MEMS). A recent book provides a convenient summary of direct-write methods and their characteristics [1]. It is worthwhile to compare the direct-write techniques with the conventional methods that have been used with increasing precision for decades to produce integrated circuits. Three types of processes are used by the semiconductor industry, as indicated by the boxes in figure 1. They necessarily involve the transfer of a pattern onto the work piece in order to achieve some desired form in a thin layer of material. This is usually done with fixed masks. However, programmable electro-optical or micro-mechanical masks are now being used in some cases, where the best resolution is not required. Two types of material transfer steps are also employed, namely material addition (deposition) or material removal (etching). In the programmable technologies of interest here, the pattern transfer step is accomplished simultaneously with the material transfer process, as shown by the ovals
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