We describe a method of imaging the intensity profiles of light in near-field lithographic experiments directly by using a sensitive photoresist. This technique was applied to a detailed study of the irradiance distribution in the optical near field with contact-mode photolithography carried out by use of elastomeric phase masks. The experimental patterns in the photoresist determined by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were compared with the corresponding theoretical profiles of intensity calculated by use of a simple scalar analysis; the two correlate well. This comparison makes it possible to improve the theoretical models of irradiance distribution in the near field. Analysis of the images highlights issues in the experimental design, provides a means for the optimization of this technique, and extends its application to the successful fabrication of test structures with linewidths of ~50 nm.

© 1998 Optical Society of America

[Optical Society of America ]

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Citation lists with outbound citation links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article level metrics are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

Related Journal Articles

• Imaging interferometric lithography: approaching the resolution limits of optics (OL)
• Photon-sieve lithography (JOSAA)
• Photolithographic fabrication of a high-precision bar-code pattern on the surface of a sphere (AO)
• PSM design for inverse lithography with partially coherent illumination (OE)
• Pixel-based simultaneous source and mask optimization for resolution enhancement in optical lithography (OE)

Related Conference Papers

• Diffractive Optical Elements Based Fabrication of Photonic Crystal
• Nano-photolithography using a visible light based on the nonadiabatic near-field photochemical reaction
• Super-Resolution Imaging and Performance Optimisation for Single- and Multi-Layer Silver Superlenses
• Polysiloxane Based Optical Waveguide Equipped with Fiber Guides by Using Direct Photolithography Technique
• Rigorous Diffraction and Imaging by Multilayer Phase Structures in Extreme UV Lithography