June 5, 2007 — GenISys GmbH, a German provider of software for optimization of microstructure fabrication processes, has formed a technology development partnership with JEOL, Ltd., and Cornell University’s Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility. The three organizations are collaborating to develop advanced solutions for direct write e-beam data preparation and electron process correction (nano-EPC) technologies for nanometer-range structures.

Each organization is leveraging its strengths within the partnership. Working with JEOL, GenISys is optimizing its high-performance Layout BEAMER data preparation and PEC software to maximize performance on JEOL’s high-end e-beam lithography systems. The Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility is providing guidance on both implementation and development strategies, leveraging its work on nanostructures used in microelectronics, optics, biomedical applications, and other functions.

Work on the three-party agreement has been in progress for about six months, with a focus on structures of some 10 nanometers or less. Because these structures are fabricated with only a few pulses of the electron beam writer, they require unprecedented uniformity, consistency, and placement. Findings of the Cornell-JEOL collaboration have already enabled upgrades of the GenISys software Layout BEAMER, which now includes an algorithm that corrects printing artifacts of this discrete writing grid. Future versions will be able to account for additional machine and process effects.

“The users of e-beam direct write need urgent solutions for advanced data preparation and correction for nanostructure applications. The strong cooperation of the equipment vendor, the user, and the software vendor is key for these developments,” said Ulrich Hofmann, founder and general manager of GenISys. “These organizations are pioneering the state of the art in nano-fabrication.”