Scalable Fourier transform system for instantly structured illumination in lithography

Abstract

We report the development of a unique scalable Fourier transform 4-f system for instantly structured illumination in lithography. In the 4-f system, coupled with a 1-D grating and a phase retarder, the $\pm 1$st order of diffracted light from the grating serve as coherent incident sources for creating interference patterns on the image plane. By adjusting the grating and the phase retarder, the interference fringes with consecutive frequencies, as well as their orientations and phase shifts, can be generated instantly within a constant interference area. We demonstrate that by adapting this scalable Fourier transform system into lithography, the pixelated nano-fringe arrays with arbitrary frequencies and orientations can be dynamically produced in the photoresist with high variation resolution, suggesting its promising application for large-area functional materials based on space-variant nanostructures in lithography.

© 2017 Optical Society of America

Single sideband Ronchi test

J. Schwider
Appl. Opt. 20(15) 2635-2642 (1981)

Efficient fabrication method of nano-grating for 3D holographic display with full parallax views

Wenqiang Wan, Wen Qiao, Wenbin Huang, Ming Zhu, Zongbao Fang, Donglin Pu, Yan Ye, Yanhua Liu, and Linsen Chen
Opt. Express 24(6) 6203-6212 (2016)

Common-path off-axis incoherent Fourier holography with a maximum overlapping interference area

Cuong M. Nguyen and Hyuk-Sang Kwon
Opt. Lett. 44(13) 3406-3409 (2019)

Square-wave retarder for polarization computer-generated holography

H. D. Noble, W. T. Lam, W. Dallas, R. A. Chipman, I. Matsubara, Y. Unno, S. C. McClain, P. Khulbe, D. Hansen, and T. D. Milster
Appl. Opt. 50(20) 3703-3710 (2011)

Coherent gradient sensing: a Fourier optics analysis and applications to fracture

Hareesh V. Tippur
Appl. Opt. 31(22) 4428-4439 (1992)