Laser writer, Pattern Transfer and Lift off process

Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE)

Indian Institute of Science

Overview

Laser Writer specs and capabilities

Unique applications of the Laser Writer
Recipes

Laser Writer specs and capabilities

Laser Writer
Laser Writer is very small equipment and it occupies around 75cm X 75cm in area
The specifications are as follows
It has a laser wavelength of 405nm.
It has a gallium nitride solid state laser.
It has an Interferometer stage for precision movements.
The minimum feature that we have been able to achieve with this is 1m with certain
conditions.
It accepts two kinds of design file formats; GDS-2 & CIF formats.
High resolution multilayer patterning can be done with the use of alignment marks.
It can be used as a substrate inspection station.
Major use of this equipment is to make masks; we can make masks up to 5inch in size.
It can be used for SU8 patterning. SU8 is a negative photo resist.

Usage
Laser Writer is used majorly for mask writing, for direct writing (direct lithography) on a variety
of substrates and it can also be used for substrate inspection.

How to do a Direct Write?

This is for the users who want to access the equipment. Firstly, the user has to fill up equipment
usage authorization forms which are available on the website. Users can meet the person incharge of the equipment and discuss about their requirements i.e. what they want to fabricate,
what their device structures are, etc. The users will have to get their design file which could be
either in CIF or GDS format.
How to make a mask?
To make a mask, users must first read through the design rules document available on the
webpage and make sure that their design complies with the rules document. Before making a
mask, users have to submit a mask submission form which is available online. 3, 4 and 5 inch
plates are available which will be offered to users and amongst them users can choose the
required plate depending on their design area. All these plates are borosilicate glass plates coated
with chromium and they are pre-coated with photo resist.

What do you mean by writing?

Direct writing is just photolithography. The working of laser writer can be explained as follows.
Firstly, photoresist is spun onto the wafer by using a spinner and the substrate is then baked in an
oven/hotplate to remove solvents from the photoresist. The laser writer equipment will convert
the input design file into its proprietary design file which is called as laser draw format. In that
format, each pattern is divided into strips. For example, if we want to make a rectangular pattern
on a substrate, it is divided into strips. The number of strips each pattern is divided into is
decided by a parameter which is called as strip width. The strip width depends on the lens used
for writing. The write head present in the machine is fixed. It is the substrate motion (by virtue of
stage movement) which causes exposure. The laser writer will do exposure of one strip at a time
and proceed to the other strips. That is how lithography is done.

The step by step process can be shown as follows

Si wafer

Photoresist coated wafer

Pattern is divided into strips

Strip Width

Photo resists available

Three kinds of photoresists are used in IISc.
Shipley 1813/1805 photoresist which is positive
SU 8 which is negative. We have three varieties of SU8- 2002, 2035 and 2150. 2002 is a
thin version and 2150 is a thick version. We also have a cyclopentanone thinner to get
various different versions of SU8
AZ5214E, which is an Image reversal resist.
Optimum Dose for exposure using the Laser tool
The optimum dose depends upon three parameters
It depends on what resist is used and the thickness of the resist.
It depends on D Step value (explained below).
It depends on strip width (which is dependent on the lens used)
Dose is directly proportional to D step and directly proportional to strip width.

Lenses, Strip width, D step and Positioning Speed

LENS Number

Strip
Width Magnification
(Microns)

Minimum
achievable
resolution
(Microns)

800

5X

400

10X

200

20X

100

40X

The minimum we can write is using lens 5 which is typically a micron. As is seen from the above
table, different lenses have different strip widths. In the above case when we wanted to make a
rectangular pattern if we choose lens 5 and assume the pattern is 1000m wide, it will be divided
into 10 equal strips with each strip being 100 and if we use lens 2, it will be divided into 2
strips with one strip 800 and the other 200 . If we use lens 2, the patterning speed will
increase but there is a compromise on the minimum resolution which is achievable.
D step is the speed of the Y stage and it has a factor of 80m/s. D step can take any value from 1
to 8. This implies that the speed of the Y stage can be adjusted from 80m/s to 640m/s. The
speed with which the Y stage moves in the Y direction upwards is called the D step parameter.
After finishing a strip, the speed with which the stage moves back to the start of the next strip is
called the positioning speed parameter. With these parameters we can change the way the system
writes and we can customize the timing but it also depends on the minimum resolution required.
Inside view of the laser writer showing the write head

Unique applications of the Laser Writer

Accurate alignment on graphene/CNTs

Accurate alignment can be done using the laser writer. With some graphene or carbon nano tubes
on a substrate, lithography can be carried out to place contact pads on these materials accurately.
Measuring depth profile of micromachined structures which are greater then 20 Microns

This is a sample having a KOH etched membrane in which we can find out the etch depth by
focusing on the top and then on the bottom of the membrane (focusing is done by moving the Z
stage). The difference in the Z coordinate will give the etch depth.

Part II
Surface modification lift-off process using direct writing
Comparison of Lift-off with etching
Lift-off process steps typically are mask exposure, development, evaporation or sputtering of
metal and lift-off in a solvent which removes the photoresist. Lift-off is a process wherein the
metal film deposited on the photoresist layer peels away when the substrate is soaked in a
photoresist solvent like acetone (for a positive photoresist) whereas the metal film deposited
directly on the substrate in the patterned and developed regions remains thereby giving the
metallized pattern. A major criteria for lift-off to occur is that the photoresist should have an
undercut or re-entrant profile after development. In the case of etching, metal deposition occurs
before photolithography. The etching is carried out after photolithography to realize patterns. So
the number of steps is more in etching.
Lift-Off Vs Etching

Need for undercut profile for Lift-Off

Metal

Photoresist

Resist profile without undercut

Undercut

Resist profile with undercut

When there is no undercut profile, the deposited metal film is continuous due to sidewall
deposition and therefore the solvent does not find a way to dissolve the underlying photoresist
thereby creating a problem for lift-off. If the profile after development has a substantial
undercutting of the photoresist, the deposited metal film is discontinuous. This allows the solvent
to access the underlying photoresist layer and dissolve it thereby leading to good lift off. For a
positive photoresist, the profile after development is somewhat V-shaped and therefore it is
difficult to perform lift-off. For a negative resist however, the profile after development has an
undercut but negative resists are relatively more costly and are difficult to process as compared
to positive photoresists. The motive behind development of this new process is to use a
conventional positive photoresist but still obtain an undercut profile.
Different methods for Lift-Off
This is an overview of what processes already exist in literature.
1) To use a thick coating of photoresist thereby we can get clean lift-off but this method fails
when the feature sizes are of the order of a few micrometers.
2) To use a negative photoresist or special Image reversal resists. These resists are costly
compared to positive photoresists and are difficult to process.
3) To use a Bi-layer or Multi layer resist structure where the bottom layer typically has better
solubility in the developer than the top resist layer. The bottom stack is more sensitive to UV
compared to top stack. It is more soluble in developer leaving a T shape kind of profile, when
we deposit our metal there is a discontinuity and lift-off becomes easy. This process is
reliable but again the costs involved are high and processing is difficult which involves two
kinds of photoresisst.
4) To modify the resist surface before or after exposure by soaking the substrate in a solvent
like chlorobenzene or toluene. This method is not reliable and does not give consistent
results. Also chlorobenzene is not environment friendly.

Bi-Layer Lift-Off process

Process for lift off using LOR and AZ5214E/S1813 resist stack with Laser Writer
1. Dehydrate samples at 200C in an oven for 30 minutes Or 250C for 10 Mins in hotplate
and take out the sample, cool down the sample for 5 minutes.
2. Spin LOR at 500 rpm for 5 sec and ramp to 3000rpm for 40 seconds expected
LOR thickness is around 1um
3. Pre bake samples at 165C on a hot plate for 2minutes
4. Spin AZ5214E/S1813 resist at 1000rpm for 5 seconds and ramp to 4000rpm for 40
second - expected thickness is around 1um
5. Pre bake on hot plate at 95C for 2 minutes
6. Exposure using Laser Writer
7. Develop in MF26A developer for 1minute+2minutes(Di water)+2minutes(developer)
8. Sputter or evaporate metal
9. Lift off in PG remover immediately after the deposition( ultra-sonication can be done for
few seconds if necessary)

Process for Direct Lithography using S1813 resist with Laser Writer
1. Dehydrate samples at 115C in an oven for 15 minutes or 250C in hotplate for 10
Minutes.
2. Spin S1813 at 500 rpm for 5 sec and ramp to 4000rpm for 40 seconds expected
Thickness is around 1.1um

3. Pre bake samples at 100C on a hot plate for 1 minutes

4. Exposure using Laser Writer
4. Develop in MF26A developer for 1minute or AZ351B in the ratio of 1:3 (Developer: DI
water)
5. Check the developed pattern in a microscope
6. Post exposure bake of 2 mins at 125C in hotplate.

Process for Direct Lithography using SU-8 resist with Laser Writer
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Piranha cleaning must be done for substrates

Dehydrate samples at 200C in an hotplate for 30 minutes
Spin SU-8 as per SU-8 process data sheets for the desired thickness
Pre bake samples as per SU-8 process data
Exposure using Laser Writer, write 4 to 8 times, depending on thickness of SU-8.
Post Exposure Bake according to thickness of resist
Develop in SU-8 developer (Developing time depends on thickness of resist)
Check the developed pattern in a microscope
Hard bake the sample, if the resist has to stay permanently

Process for Direct Lithography using AZ5214E for lift off process with Laser writer
1. Dehydrate samples at 250C in hotplate for 10 Minutes.
2. Spin S1813 at 500 rpm for 5 sec and ramp to 3000rpm for 40 seconds expected
thickness is around 1.2 um
3. Pre bake samples at 100C on a hot plate for 1 minutes.
4. Exposure using Laser writer(65% of normal dose)
5. Baking in hotplates at 125C for 1 minute 30sec
6. Flood Expose in Mask aligner @ 150 to 300mj/cm2 energy
7. Develop in MF26A developer for 3 minute or AZ351B in the ratio of 1:3 (Developer: DI
water)
8. Check the developed pattern in a microscope.