Introduction

Based on prior work for development of angstrom-scale measurement standards for the semiconductor industry, this innovation has made significant advancements in the alignment and control for etching lines/channels in silicon and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structures. Prior alignment and etching methods were not precise enough to provide the necessary control. The resulting advancement allows production of nano-scale channels of very high quality, for example mechanical integrity, surface condition, and precise size and spacing. Additional capabilities include making columnar nano-structures.

Benefits:

• Production of nano-channels and nano-columns of extremely high quality: high dimensional accuracy, surface smoothness, and mechanical robustness
  
• Nanometer level dimensional sizes and control
  
• Applicable to both silicon and SOI materials
  
• Amenable to low-cost production methods

Features

• Precise alignment of electron-beam lithography
  
• Broad potential across many different market applications
  

Market Potential/Applications:

This is an enabling innovation with broad potential applications, including micro mirrors and optics, microelectronic interconnects, microelectronic devices (such as tri-gate or FIN/FET devices), environmental sensors, and various microfluidic and MEMS applications. Microfluidic and MEMS-related applications include drug delivery and sensors for study of cells, proteomics and genomics, and lab-on-a-chip type applications

Microfluidics is a rapidly developing field targeting the manipulation of miniature amounts of fluids, mainly for fast biochemical analysis. It deals with moving gaseous or liquid fluids in micro cavities and channels, and is at the crossroads of material sciences, surface science, microtechnology, fluid physics, and chemistry. Microfluidics has become of great interest due to its potential to speed up analytical throughput, integrate multiple tasks on a single platform, and decrease size and sample quantity, compared to established analytical tools.

Contact:

University of Texas,
Austin, USA
Website : www.otc.utexas.edu