Abstract
Photolithography 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 1/10th of 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.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 805 |
Journal | Nature communications |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2020 Dec 1 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by LG Display under LGD-Yonsei University Incubation Program, the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (NRF-2018M3D1A1058793, 2015R1A5A1037668, 2016M3A7B4910798) and grants from the Institute for Basic Science (IBS-R026-D1). J.L. and H.C. were supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) through the government of Korea (MSIP) (Grant NRF-2018R1A2A1A05079060). H.-G.P. acknowledges support from National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (grant no. 2018R1A3A3000666).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General
- General Physics and Astronomy