Nanolithography using counter-propagating light-sheets

Abstract

We propose a laser interference nano-lithography technique for fabrication of nano-structures. This is inspired by a 2pi-illumination system that consists of two cylindrical lens arranged face-to-face at a distance 2f with a common geometrical focus. When illuminated by a coherent light, this results in the super-position of two counter-propagating light-sheets. The interference gives rise to nano-bump structures along the optical axis. This technique overcomes the existing point-scanning techniques and paves the way for mass production of nano-structures. Study shows the structures with a feature size of 60 nm and an inter-nanobump separation of 180 nm. Proposed technique may find applications in plasmonics, nanophotonics and nanobiology.