Surface Plasmon Interference Nanolithography

• Published in: Nano letters Vol. 5; no. 5; pp. 957 - 961
• Main Authors: Liu, Zhao-Wei, Wei, Qi-Huo, Zhang, Xiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 01.05.2005
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Computer Simulation; Computer-Aided Design; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Crystallization - methods; Electronics; Equipment Design - methods; Exact sciences and technology; Microelectronic fabrication (materials and surfaces technology); Models, Chemical; Nanoscale materials: clusters, nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanocrystals; Nanostructures - analysis; Nanostructures - chemistry; Nanostructures - ultrastructure; Nanotechnology - methods; Photochemistry - methods; Photography - methods; Physics; Refractometry - methods; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Structure of solids and liquids; crystallography; Surface Plasmon Resonance - methods; Surface Properties; Nanometer scale; Field distribution; Surface waves; Two dimensional structure; Light diffraction; Interference; Computerized simulation; Nanostructures; Dielectric metal interface; Nanolithography; Surface plasmons; Nanotechnology
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/nl0506094

A new nanophotolithography technique based on the interference of surface plasmon waves is proposed and demonstrated by using computer simulations. The wavelengths of the surface plasmon waves at metal and dielectric interfaces can reach the nanometer scale while their frequencies remain in the optical range. As a result, the resolution of this surface plasmon interference nanolithography (SPIN) can go far beyond the free-space diffraction limit of the light. Simulation results show that one-dimensional and two-dimensional periodical structures of 40−100 nm features can be patterned using interfering surface plasmons launched by 1D gratings. Detailed characteristics of SPIN such as field distribution and contrast are also investigated.