ECE 635 - Fall 2018

ECE 635 - Fabrication in the nanoscale: principles, technology and applications

Instructor

Dr. Bo Cui
Office: QNC – 3611
Phone: (Ext. 38754), 519-577-3680 (cell).
Office hours: by appointment, or just drop by if you see my office is open.
Email: bcui@uwaterloo.ca

Course outline

  1. Overview of micro-fabrication.
    Lithography, thin film deposition, etching.
  2. High resolution photon-based lithography.
    Deep UV lithography with resolution enhancement technology, interference lithography, two-photon lithography.
  3. Extreme UV (soft x-ray) lithography and x-ray lithography.
  4. Electron beam lithography.
    Electron optics, electron-matter interaction, proximity effect, resists, multi-beam lithography.
  5. Nano-patterning by focused ion beam (FIB).
    Ion source/optics, ion-matter interaction, FIB etching, focused ion/electron beam induced deposition.
  6. Nanoimprint lithography (NIL).
    Thermal NIL, UV-curable NIL, resist, alignment, mold fabrication.
  7. Nano-patterning by scanning probes.
    Scanning probe overview, AFM oxidation, dip-pen lithography, near field exposure of resist, STM manipulation of atoms.
  8. Soft lithography and self assembly.
    Micro-contact printing, nano-transfer printing. Anodized aluminum oxide, nano-sphere lithography, block copolymer self assembly.

Course materials

  1. Lecture slides. (will be posted to LEARN)
  2. Nanofabrication: principles, capabilities and limits, written by Zheng Cui, Springer 2008.
  3. Nanofabrication: fundamentals and applications, edited by Ampere A. Tseng, World Scientific 2008. (reference book, not as well written as the book by Zheng Cui)

Course grading criteria

  • Assignment: 25%
  • Project: 25%
  • Final Exam (I and II): 50%

Project requirements

  • Projects are individual.
  • One report to be submitted per project.
  • The report must contain title, abstract (< 100 words), introduction, conclusion, and reference.
  • The report should be 15-25 pages with 1.5 line spacing.

Suggested project topics

You are more than encouraged to propose a topic and email me the title with a short (1/2 page) abstract for approval. It is a good idea that the project is closely related to your research project (so what you write now would be very useful for your comprehensive exam thesis or MASc thesis in the future). Below are just some topics you may consider.

  • High resolution electron beam resist.
  • Helium ion lithography.
  • Plastic/polymer mold for nanoimprint lithography.
  • Ion (or electron) beam induced deposition.
  • Recent progress in LIGA process.
  • X-ray imaging using zone plate lens.
  • Guided block copolymer self-assembly.
  • TEM sample preparation by FIB.
  • Dip pen nanolithography.
  • Applications of soft-lithography.
  • Fabrication or manufacturing of ..... your choice of device.

What is expected?

A review of the state of the art (you should have many references published within the last three years) in micro-nanofabrication process, with or without a target application field. You should read at least 20 journal papers. You will receive low mark if your project is based on just a few (<5) published review papers. The images/figures should all have a cited source. The references should appear equally in the text other than the introduction.

Top journals in micro-nanofabrication: Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A and B; Microelectronic Engineering; Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS. Journals in the general nano field: Nano Letters, ACS Nano, Nanotechnology.