SBIR-STTR Award

A critical need is developing for precision nanopositioners that are very compact and very fast while maintaining reasonable range of motion and load carrying capability. The need is pervasive, cover-ing, for example, advanced forms of lithography and CD metrology in the semiconductor industry; positioning of optical fibers, lasers, and electron sources in lithography and optical communication; test instrumentation in the magnetic-data-storage and other industries that manufacture products with extreme mechanical precision; and increasingly in nanotechnology and biomedical research. Currently commercially available nanopositioners, while they have sub-nanometer precision and reasonable ranges of motion, are all macroscopic, with dimensions measured in cm or more, are driven by macroscopic piezoelectric actuator stacks, and cannot be scaled. Nanopositioners fabri-cated using micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, on the other hand, would be very compact and fast, with a range of motion comparable to conventional positioners. However, standard actuation mechanisms for MEMS devices are insufficient for the requirements of nanopo-sitioners. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of fabricating a MEMS nanopositioner that is driven by a novel type of actuator that produces greater force in a smaller footprint than conventional actuators used in microfabricated mechanical devices. Anticipated Benefits/Commercial Applications: Success in this feasibility study will allow the manufacture of a range of nanopositioners with foot-prints a factor or 50 to 100 times smaller than conventional nanopositioners and much higher speeds. Such positioners will be necessary in a number of modern "lighter, faster, stronger" manu-facturing technologies. A successful outcome of this Phase I research will also provide a new form of actuation useful with MEMS devices of all types.

Keywords:
nanopositioning, MEMS, actuators, dielectrics, metrology, microscopy, carbon nanotubes

There are several technology nodes on the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconduc-tors (ITRS) for which metrology and lithography tools must be developed or improved. The roadmap projects increasingly smaller feature sizes, providing the rationale for the development of next-generation lithography techniques as well as for the continuing improvement of optical lithography techniques. In addition, advanced critical-dimension (CD) metrology methods for these ever-smaller devices are needed. Both advanced lithography and precise nano-level criti-cal-dimension (CD) metrology require the ability to move accurately, rapidly, repeatedly, and precisely in X, Y, Z, and possible angular directions. Metrology in the semiconductor industry encompasses a wide variety of techniques that perform measurements on defects and dimensions. Scanned-probe (SPM)-based techniques offer a viable approach to CD metrology even in the near-future time frame. At future nodes, at sufficiently small dimensions, current approaches to wafer metrology may simply fail and there may be no solutions other than SPM-based techniques. SPM-style instruments have great capability for very precise metrology measurements, at nanolevel scales. To use SPM-based tools in metrology, ab-solute measurement and speed are essential, requiring guided motion, very accurate position sensing, high mechanical resonances, and advanced feedback systems. nPoint proposes the development of multi-axis nanopositioning systems that will enable CD me-trology and lithographic-mask metrology for upcoming technology nodes in the semiconductor device industry. These tools, based on SPM, will be routinely capable of reliable performance at sub-nanometer resolution and precision and will have increased speeds relative to present tech-nology. Within two years, nPoint expects to develop a positioning system that is both fast enough and accurate enough to form the essential component of a semiconductor wafer or ad-vanced-lithography mask CD metrology tool, enabling a technology that may ultimately, at a fu-ture node, be the only choice.

Keywords:
CD METROLOGY, NANOFABRICATION, NANOPOSITIONERS, ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY