SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROJECTION LITHOGRAPHY WITH IMMERSED IMAGE-ALIGNED DIFFRACTIVE ELEMENT

摘要

A novel system and method and computer program product for exposing a photoresist film with patterns of finer resolution than can physically be projected onto the film in an ordinary image formed at the same wavelength. A hologram structure containing a set of resolvable spatial frequencies is first formed above the photoresist film. An illuminating wavefront containing a second set of resolvable spatial frequencies is projected through the hologram, forming a new set of transmitted spatial frequencies that expose the photoresist. The transmitted spatial frequencies include sum frequencies of higher frequency than is present in the hologram or illuminating wavefront, increasing the resolution of the exposing pattern. A further method is described for designing lithographic masks to fabricate the hologram and to project the illuminating wavefront. In other embodiments, a simple personalization based on Talbot fringes and plasmonic interference is performed.