August 18, 2011 — The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory Center for Nanoscale Materials and Energy Systems Division, led by Seth Darling, is using sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS) to transfer patterns more deeply into materials via e-beam lithography. With SIS, scientists grow inorganic materials within polymer films, contructing materials with unique properties or complex 3D geometries.

The method avoids e-beam lithography’s hard mask application, which can blur patterns, create rough edges, and add costs. SIS makes the traditionally thin, delicate resist film robust by infiltrating it with inorganic material, Darling said. SIS-assisted lithography can pattern narrow features >1