Wafer-Scale All-Dielectric Quasi-BIC Metasurfaces: Bridging High-Throughput Deep-UV Lithography with Nanophotonic...

Area of Science:

• Nanophotonics
• Metasurface fabrication
• Semiconductor manufacturing

Background:

• High-quality-factor (Q) dielectric metasurfaces typically require sub-200 nm features, necessitating expensive electron beam lithography.
• Existing fabrication methods limit throughput and scalability for visible to near-infrared nanophotonics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate wafer-scale metasurface fabrication using deep ultraviolet lithography (DUVL).
• To achieve high Q-factors and explore Q-factor engineering using DUV exposure dose.
• To establish a practical pathway for commercializing nanophotonic devices.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of silicon nitride metasurfaces using deep ultraviolet lithography (DUVL).
• Utilized a radius and depth perturbation technique in a hole array to create quasi-bound states in the continuum (qBIC) resonances.
• Introduced DUV exposure dose as a Q-factor engineering parameter and controlled hole depth.

Main Results:

• Achieved measured Q-factors of 150 for quasi-bound states in the continuum (qBIC) resonances.
• Demonstrated spatial uniformity in fabricated metasurfaces despite nanoscale variations.
• Achieved 129 nm/RIU sensitivity for refractive index sensing using CMOS camera-based interrogation.

Conclusions:

• DUVL enables scalable, high-performance dielectric metasurface fabrication.
• Q-factor engineering is achievable through DUV exposure dose and hole depth control.
• This work bridges semiconductor manufacturing with nanophotonics for commercial applications.