Shadow-Assisted Sidewall Emission for Achieving Submicron Linewidth Light Source by Using Normal UV Photolithography

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Micro light sources are vital for micro/nanoscale light-matter interaction studies.
• Efficient fabrication of ultra-high-resolution micro light sources is challenging due to complex processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a simple and efficient fabrication method for submicron light sources.
• To demonstrate the potential of this method in optical anti-counterfeiting.

Main Methods:

• Utilized shadow-assisted sidewall emission (SASE) technology.
• Employed UV photolithography with metal shadow modulation for precise light emission control.
• Investigated the effects of exposure dose, development time, and metal film thickness on linewidth.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated submicron light sources with controllable linewidths.
• Demonstrated red, green, and blue submicron light sources.
• Showcased potential application in optical anti-counterfeiting.

Conclusions:

• SASE technology offers a novel, simple, and efficient approach for preparing submicron light sources.
• This method overcomes limitations of complex micro-nano processing.
• The developed light sources have potential applications in areas like optical anti-counterfeiting.