Raith e_LiNE

The "Ultra high resolution electron beam Lithography and Nano Engineering workstation" (e_LiNE) from Raith is a complete system for lithography, microscopy and surface composition analysis.

Lithography

With electron beam lithography (EBL) higher resolution can be obtained compared to photolithography. In EBL energy is transferred into the resist using electrons not UV-Light like in photolithography. Resolution is not limited by the wavelength of the electrons: The de Broglie-wavelength of electrons at 20 keV is approx. 9 picometer! Structure size is limited by the electron optics, scattering of the electrons in the exposed sample and properties of the resist.

In contrast to photolithography, structures are written serially with EBL: A focused electron beam exposes sequentially all predefined areas of the sample. Hence, exposure takes longer than in photolithography. Nevertheless, EBL is the most important method for fabrication of nanostructures and prototype development used in research.