Sub-micrometer pattern generation by diffractive mask-aligner lithography

A novel technique for the fabrication of high resolution sub-micrometer patterns by diffractive proximity lithography in a mask-aligner is presented. The technique is based on the use of specially designed diffractive photo-masks. It requires some small modifications of the mask-aligner, especially for the mask illumination and the settings of the proximity gap between mask and substrate. The huge potential of this novel technique is demonstrated at the example of structures having lateral feature sizes in the sub-500nm range printed with mask-to-substrate distances of several ten micrometers.