Micromachining by ion track lithography

Micromachining by ion track etching (MITE) based on the lithographic projec tion of a mask onto an arbitrary ion track recording material using a paral lel beam of highly energetic heavy ions, is described here. By this, deep m icrostructures have been produced in single crystalline quartz, phlogopite mica, polycarbonate, polyimide, and soda Lime glass without any photolithog raphic masking. Moreover, with a semitransparent mask, depth modulation and negative resist characteristics can be produced. Edge definition and surfa ce smoothness have been found to increase with increasing ion fluence. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.