Fabrication of a submicrometer crystalline structure by thermoplastic holography

We report what we believe to be a novel method for fabrication of permanent submicrometer periodic structures by interference laser fields. The new method is holographic lithography combined with laser-induced thermoplastification. The crystalline structures that result from this new method not only can be maintained permanently after the optical field is evacuated but also can be rewritten by exposure of an inteference laser field for the second time. The process of fabrication is rapid, convenient, and effective.