FAST ATOM BEAM ETCHING OF GLASS MATERIALS WITH CONTACT AND NONCONTACTMASKS

Fast atom beam (FAB) etching of multicomponent glass and silica glass was performed using a contact mask (electron beam resist) and two non- contact masks (typically 5-mu m-diameter particles and a copper mesh w ith a 5 mu m Line width and 20 mu m line spacing). FAB etching of a mu lti component glass substrate with the micro-particle mask successfull y fabricated a precisely projected, 1.0-mu m-high outline pattern on t he substrate. FAB etching of a silica glass substrate with the copper- mesh mask, which was separated from the substrate by about 100 mu m, s uccessfully produced a projected, 34-nm-high outline pattern on the su bstrate. A combination of electron beam lithography with FAB etching o n silica glass successfully fabricated nano-scale ultrafine patterns w hose aspect ratio was higher than 7 (50 nm Line width and 360 nm heigh t). In all three fabrications, the side walls and etched surfaces were very smooth and were perpendicular to each other.