Using neutral atoms and standing light waves to form a calibration artifact for length metrology

Beams of neutral metastable atoms can be patterned by spatially dependent deexcitation in a standing wave of laser light. Metastable atoms which hit a substrate transfer their internal energy (10–20 eV) to the surface and activate the formation of a durable carbonaceous resist from a vapor precursor. The resist can be used as an etch mask to transfer patterns into the substrate material. In this work, we report a recent experimental demonstration of this “standing wave quenching” (SWQ) patterning technique. We also present an analysis of the accuracy to which atom lithography and SWQ can form a periodic reference array for length metrology. We find that, with some modification of the experimental setup and parameters, the absolute period across a 1 mm² patterned area can be known to one part in 10⁶. © 1998 American Vacuum Society.