Olivier Lugier defends PhD thesis

The thesis aims to broaden the scope of EUV lithography by using metal-organic frameworks, a type of highly versatile advanced materials, to generate µm- to nm-scale patterns onto a substrate. By investigating new materials and methods for EUV lithography, Lugier and his fellow scientists at ARCNL can provide fresh insights on the technique aiming to improve photoresists or explore its potential beyond chips manufacturing.

Video shows gold substrate that was covered with a monolayer of hydrophobic molecules and exposed multiple times to EUV light through a square-shaped mask. The damage caused to the monolayer by the EUV photons modified the properties of its molecules, rendering them more hydrophilic. Because of the EUV-induced contrast in hydrophilicity between exposed areas (hydrophilic) and unexposed areas (hydrophobic), when water is poured onto the substrate it drips away from the unexposed areas to preferentially remain on the exposed ones. In the video, the reflection of the light onto the thin layer of water that remains on the exposed areas (small squares) reveals them to the naked eye.