25 nm-Feature, 104-aspect-ratio, 10 mm2-area single-pulsed laser nanolithography
Zhi Chen1, Lijing Zhong2, Xiangyu Sun3
1College of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Yunnan Province, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China. zhichen@kust.edu.cn.
Nature Communications
|August 12, 2025
Summary
A new nanolithography technique, WEALTH, enables precise fabrication of large-area, high-aspect-ratio nanostructures. This breakthrough in nanophotonics manufacturing opens doors for advanced optical devices.
Area of Science:
- Nanophotonics
- Materials Science
- Optical Engineering
Background:
- Creating high-aspect-ratio nanostructures over large areas with precision is a major challenge in nanophotonics.
- Traditional methods like photolithography are limited in feature size (100 nm) and aspect ratio (30:1).
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a novel strategy for fabricating large-area deep holey nanostructures.
- To overcome the limitations of existing nanolithography techniques.
Main Methods:
- Wet-chemical etching assisted aberration-enhanced single-pulsed femtosecond laser-supplemented nanolithography (WEALTH).
- Fabrication of nanostructures with diameters as small as 25 nm and aspect ratios > 10^4:1.
- Demonstration of large-area holey lattices (10 mm^2, scalable to cm^2).
Main Results:
- Achieved nanostructures with feature sizes beyond the diffraction limit.
- Demonstrated aspect ratios exceeding 10,000:1.
- Successfully applied the technique to create immunoassay biosensing chips, nanophotonic crystals, microcavities, and chiral nanophotonic devices.
Conclusions:
- WEALTH offers a flexible and scalable approach for manufacturing complex nanophotonic structures.
- The technique is adaptable to various materials including crystals, glasses, and semiconductors.
- This advancement paves the way for breakthroughs in 3D integrated optics and advanced nanophotonic applications.
