Scalable Fourier transform system for instantly structured illumination in lithography

We report the development of a unique scalable Fourier transform 4-f system for instantly structured illumination in lithography. In the 4-f system, coupled with a 1-D grating and a phase retarder, the ±1st order of diffracted light from the grating serve as coherent incident sources for creating interference patterns on the image plane. By adjusting the grating and the phase retarder, the interference fringes with consecutive frequencies, as well as their orientations and phase shifts, can be generated instantly within a constant interference area. We demonstrate that by adapting this scalable Fourier transform system into lithography, the pixelated nano-fringe arrays with arbitrary frequencies and orientations can be dynamically produced in the photoresist with high variation resolution, suggesting its promising application for large-area functional materials based on space-variant nanostructures in lithography.