Basic tips for E-beam lithography and lift-o using the FEI Helios system
G. E. Fernandes July 10, 2013
1
1.1
Sample preparation
Cleaning
Sonicate sample substrate in acetone for 2 minutes. Then transfer sample to ethanol and sonicate for an additional 30 seconds. Blow dry with nitrogen gun.
1.2
Spin coating
Preheat a hotplate to 180 o C. Spin coat PMMA-495 at 4000 RPM, 1000 RPM/s, 45s. Post-bake sample for 2 minutes. For storage, cover line box with Al foil.
1.3
Metal coating
Coat sample with 8nm Au using thermal evaporation. This step is not necessary for samples with conductive substrates, but helps both in focusing and to dissipate charge during writing. It is mandatory for insulating samples.
2
2.1
E-beam writing
Loading sample
Mount sample level on Al stage using carbon tape. For insulating samples with an Au coating, place a small grounding strip of carbon tape at the edge of the sample so as to ground to the top surface. Blow some canned air onto the sample to remove any dust or debris, and mount onto stage. If available also mount an Au target for calibration. Disable plasma cleaning before pumpdown to avoid etching of resist. Vacuum chamber.
2.2
Setting up the instrument
Start electron beam by pressing the Beam On button on the rst tab on the right panel. Unpause top left screen by left clicking onto it and then choosing 1
(Top Menu):Scan:Pause. Set beam energy to 20 keV and beam current to 86 pA. Locate Au target and roughly adjust focus/stigmation. Now open NPGS and select Set WD to 6mm. Double clicking onto the info bar below the image on the FEI software opens up a detailed info sheet. Check that the WD is indeed set to 6mm. Now, move Z-stage up (by left clicking on the camera view window and pressing the mouse wheel while gently moving the mouse forward) so as to bring image of Au target into focus. Progressively increase the magnication and adjust Z to ensure that image remains focused. When above 20,000X magnication, nish adjusting focus and stigmation with the control knobs. If necessary also center beam. Continue to adjust focus, stigmation, and alignment up to a magnication of 200,000X or higher. Check the WD value on the info window to make sure it is still close to 6mm. Now decrease the magnication to the minimum (63X) and locate one corner of the sample. Now progressively increase magnication and adjust Z-height to focus on the sample surface at magnications 200,000X. Do not use the focus and stigmation knobs or change the beam alignment while focusing on the sample surface this time. Once corner of sample is in focus, go to NPGS and select direct stage control. Hit ESC to skip rotation correction and cloose to perform leveling of the sample plane. Acquire rst point at present location, making sure image is in focus at high magnication. In the second tab of the right menu in the FEI software, note down the present (X,Y) coordinates of the rst sample corner. Now go to smallest magnication available and move to second sample corner. Once there, increase the magnication and adjust the focus, this time using the focus knob instead of changing the Z-height (do not change the stigmation or the beam alignment). Once focus is obtained at magnication of 200,000K or higher, go to NPGS and acquire second point on sample leveling routine. Then note down the (X,Y) coordinates of the second sample corner. Repeat this paragraph for corners 3 and 4 of the sample. Once the sample levelling procedure is nished, turn on the beam-blanker by pressing EXT E-BLNK ON button on the little box near the monitor. In NPGS, click Beam OFF and make sure the image pane on the FEI software goes black and that no current is detected in the Keithley picoammeter. In the FEI software, type in the coordinates where the pattern is to be written and move the stage there.
2.3
Conguring the NPGS run le and patterning
Pattern drawing is not covered here. However, it is important to limit pattern to approx. 50um X 50um and to use the MAXMAG feature in the NPGS menu of DesignCAD to shift the origin to the center of the pattern. The maximum magnication allowed should be greater than 2,000X. Setup the NPGS run le according to Figures 1 and 2 below. Once the run le is set, run the pattern by pressing Process Run File in NPGS. 2
2.4
Finishing up
After processing, move to one of the sample corners so that beam can be unblanked and sample can be unloaded. Press Beam O in the rst tab of the FEI software right menu, and then vent the chamber.
Figure 1: Model NPGS run le, part 1.
Figure 2: Model NPGS run le, part 2.
