Maskless lithography using silicon oxide etch-stop layer induced by megahertz repetition femtosecond laser pulses.

In this study we report a new method for maskless lithography fabrication process by a combination of direct silicon oxide etch-stop layer patterning and wet alkaline etching. A thin layer of etch-stop silicon oxide of predetermined pattern was first generated by irradiation with high repetition (MHz) ultrafast (femtosecond) laser pulses in air and at atmospheric pressure. The induced thin layer of silicon oxide is used as an etch stop during etching process in alkaline etchants such as KOH. Our proposed method has the potential to enable low-cost, flexible, high quality patterning for a wide variety of application in the field of micro- and nanotechnology, this technique can be leading to a promising solution for maskless lithography technique. A Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), optical microscopy, Micro-Raman, Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy were used to analyze the silicon oxide layer induced by laser pulses.