Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Microsystems and Solid State Technologies EMFTHigh-resolution, maskless e-beam lithography enables feature sizes down to 10 nm on 200 mm wafers. The process is embedded in a fully integrated in-house workflow, covering everything from resist coating to final quality control.
E-Beam Lithography for Nanometer-Scale Structures
Maskless patterning with a fully integrated in-house process from resist coating to quality control
Operation of the JEOL JBX-8100FS e-beam lithography system
E-Beam Lithography – How Does It Work?
E-beam lithography is a well-established technology for the fabrication of high-resolution nanostructures. Using a finely focused electron beam, patterns are written directly into an electron-sensitive resist with nanometer-scale precision.
Unlike conventional photolithography, e-beam lithography does not require physical masks. Instead, structures are generated directly from digital layout data, enabling rapid design iterations, greater flexibility, and shorter development cycles. This makes the technology particularly attractive for research and development, prototyping, and low-volume production.
Combining e-beam lithography with stepper lithography (mix-and-match lithography) enables the efficient fabrication of complex structures that require both ultra-high resolution and high throughput.
At Fraunhofer EMFT, we operate the JEOL JBX-8100FS electron beam lithography system.
Technical Data
Resolution
≥ 10 nm
depending on material system and resist used
Acceleration Voltage
25 kV
50 kV
100 kV
200 kV
Resist Technology
Positive Resist
Negative Resist
Combinable with stepper lithography (mix & match)
Wafer Sizes
Standard
150 mm
200 mm
On Request
3''
100 mm
Material
Standard
Si
On Request
Quartz
SiC
other
Technology
CMOS
MEMS
Using separate wafer cassettes
E-Beam Lithography as Part of an Integrated Process Chain
We offer services across the entire process chain – from consultation, layout, and design to patterning, characterization, and quality control of the fabricated structures. For quality assurance, we utilize a JEOL JSM-IT800 Critical Dimension Scanning Electron Microscope (CD-SEM), enabling direct inline characterization of the written features. This allows continuous process monitoring and contributes to a high level of process stability and reproducibility.
The result is a seamless process chain from the initial concept to the finished device – all within a single cleanroom environment and from a single source.
Mounting of a 200 mm wafer
Wafer cassettes for different wafer sizes in the loading chamber of the JEOL JBX-8100FS e-beam lithography system
Engineer at the electron source of the JEOL JBX-8100FS e-beam lithography system
01 — Preparation
Wafer Coating
Spin-coating of electron beam resist (positive or negative) with HMDS pre-treatment. Resist thicknesses from 80 nm, fully automated and reproducible.
SÜSS ACS02 — Competence
Electron Beam Lithography
Direct pattern transfer from GDSII layouts. Structures down to the 10 nm range, wafer diameters up to 200 mm, fully automated. Coarse structures via stepper, finest structures via e-beam.
JEOL JBX-8100FS03 — Further Processing
Etching & Deposition Processes
RIE, DRIE, CVD, PVD and more across the full CMOS and MEMS line.
CMOS or MEMS line04 — Quality Control
CD-SEM Characterization
Critical structures are measured and documented inline using CD-SEM. Continuous process monitoring for traceable quality assurance in accordance with ISO 9001.
JEOL JSM-IT800 CD-SEM