Authors: Sangyoon Paik, Gwangmook Kim, Sehwan Chang, Sooun Lee, Dana Jin, Kwang-Yong Jeong, I Sak Lee, Jekwan Lee, Hongjae Moon, Jaejun Lee, Kiseok Chang, Su Seok Choi, Jeongmin Moon, Soonshin Jung, Shinill Kang, Wooyoung Lee, Heon-Jin Choi, Hyunyong Choi, Hyun Jae Kim, Jae-Hyun Lee, Jinwoo Cheon, Miso Kim, Jaemin Myoung, Hong-Gyu Park, Wooyoung Shim
Published: 2020-02-10
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14439-1
Source: Full article
AbstractPhotolithography is the prevalent microfabrication technology. It needs to meet resolution and yield demands at a cost that makes it economically viable. However, conventional far-field photolithography has reached the diffraction limit, which imposes complex optics and short-wavelength beam source to achieve high resolution at the expense of cost efficiency. Here, we present a cost-effective near-field optical printing approach that uses metal patterns embedded in a flexible elastomer photomask with mechanical robustness. This technique generates sub-diffraction patterns that are smaller than 1/10thof the wavelength of the incoming light. It can be integrated into existing hardware and standard mercury lamp, and used for a variety of surfaces, such as curved, rough and defect surfaces. This method offers a higher resolution than common light-based printing systems, while enabling parallel-writing. We anticipate that it will be widely used in academic and industrial productions.