Nanolithography method with controllable critical dimension based on evanescent waves coupling.

Abstract: We propose a method of generating nanostructures based on evanescent waves coupling. The nanopatterns with ultra-high resolution can be formed by the interference of the evanescent waves between the pattern edges of the mold. Through properly adjusting the width of the mold groove, critical dimension of the nanopatterns can be effectively controlled. The critical dimension of the electric field versus the width of the mold groove is systematically calculated by finite-difference time-domain method. The calculation results demonstrate that through adjusting the geometric parameters of the mold, critical dimension of the electric field can be controlled within the range of 30nm and 100nm, and the contrast ratio is above 60%. This method provides an easy way for fabricating nanostructures with various dimensions corresponding to the mold patterns and it maybe useful in the applications such as integrate circuits, ultra-high sensitive sensors, and optical storage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]