Embodiments provided herewith are directed to self-assembled methods of preparing a patterned surface for sequencing applications including, for example, a patterned flow cell or a patterned surface for digital fluidic devices. The methods utilize photolithography to create a patterned surface with a plurality of microscale or nanoscale contours, separated by hydrophobic interstitial regions, without the need of oxygen plasma treatment during the photolithography process. In addition, the methods avoid the use of any chemical or mechanical polishing steps after the deposition of a gel material to the contours.

A method for manufacturing a low-angle blazed grating on a semiconductor or silicon substrate, includes spin-coating the substrate with resist layer or hydrogen or polysilsesquioxane, being 100-1000 nm or few hundred nanometers thick, applying grayscale irradiation lithography exposure to the resist layer, generating a dose modulated pattern therein, varying in response to absorbed energy density from irradiation lithography exposure. The coated, irradiated substrate is developed in solution, such as TMAH or NaOH, enabling a blazed profile having structures of thickness-dependent diffusion barriers or SiO.sub.2, with 0-1000 nm height to emerge. Thermal oxidation in oxygen atmosphere at elevated temperature with the developed substrate, converts the upper silicon substrate layer into SiO.sub.2 to a depth depending on the thickness of the pattern in the resist layer above. Hydrofluoric acid fluid removes the SiO.sub.2, creating low-angle low-roughness blazed grating structure on silicon substrate.

Technologies are described for methods and systems effective for etching nanostructures in a substrate. The methods may comprise depositing a patterned block copolymer on the substrate. The patterned block copolymer may include first and second polymer block domains. The methods may comprise applying a precursor to the patterned block copolymer to generate an infiltrated block copolymer. The precursor may infiltrate into the first polymer block domain and generate a material in the first polymer block domain. The methods may comprise applying a removal agent to the infiltrated block copolymer to generate a patterned material. The removal agent may be effective to remove the first and second polymer block domains from the substrate. The methods may comprise etching the substrate. The patterned material on the substrate may mask the substrate to pattern the etching. The etching may be performed under conditions to produce nanostructures in the substrate.

A pattern forming material according to an embodiment is a pattern forming material comprising a polymer composed of a plurality of monomer units bonded to each other. Each of the monomer units includes an ester structure having a first carbonyl group and at least one second carbonyl group bonded to the ester structure. A second carbonyl group farthest from a main chain of the polymer constituting the pattern forming material among second carbonyl groups is in a linear chain state.

Proposed is a process liquid composition for improving a lifting defect level of a photoresist pattern containing a surfactant and for reducing the number of defects of the photoresist pattern, the composition containing a surfactant and having a surface tension of 40 mN/m or less and a contact angle of 60° or smaller in the photoresist pattern having hydrophobicity represented by a contact angle of 70° or greater of water with respect to a photoresist surface in a photoresist pattern process.

A method of patterning a substrate includes depositing an overcoat in openings of a relief pattern. The relief pattern includes a solubility-shifting agent and a deprotectable monomer sensitive to the solubility-shifting agent. The overcoat includes another deprotectable monomer sensitive to the solubility-shifting agent. The overcoat has a solubility threshold relative to a predetermined developer that is lower than the solubility threshold of the relief pattern relative to the developer. The method includes activating the solubility-shifting agent to at least reach the solubility threshold of the overcoat without reaching the solubility threshold of the relief pattern, diffusing the solubility-shifting agent a predetermined distance from structures of the relief pattern into the overcoat to form soluble regions in the overcoat, and developing the substrate with the developer to remove the soluble regions of the overcoat. The soluble regions are soluble in the developer while the relief pattern remains insoluble in the developer.

A photolithography patterning stack and method for repairing defects in the stack. The stack includes an organic planarization layer, a hardmask layer, and a plurality of patterned photoresist lines in contact with the hardmask layer. A plurality of trenches is situated between the plurality of patterned photoresist lines. Each trench exposes a portion of the hardmask layer. A repairing layer is formed in contact with and only bonded to surfaces of the plurality of patterned photoresist lines. The method includes forming a photolithographic patterning stack. The stack includes at least a hardmask layer formed on one or more underlayers and a photoresist layer formed in contact with the hardmask layer. The photoresist layer is patterned into a plurality of patterned portions. A repairing layer is formed in contact with and only bonded to surfaces of each patterned portion of the plurality of portions.

A method for making three dimensional structures using photolithography and an adhesively bondable material is disclosed. A thiol-ene-epoxy (OSTE(−)) material undergoes a first reaction upon partial irradiation in a pattern to become a partially cross-linked polymer network. Non-cross-linked parts are dissolved in a solvent and removed. An initiator is added to activate the cross-linked polymer network so that it becomes adhesive and can then be covalently bound to another object to form an article. The method can be utilized to manufacture an article with a complicated three dimensional shape in an easy way.

Provided are a novel water-soluble diacetylene monomer, a composition for photolithography including the novel water-soluble diacetylene monomer and a conductive polymer, and a method of forming micropatterns using the composition. The water-soluble diacetylene monomer may not aggregate even when mixed with a water-soluble conductive polymer. Accordingly, a uniform composition for photolithography can be prepared by mixing a water-soluble conductive polymer with the diacetylene monomer, and micropatterns can be formed using the composition. More particularly, when the composition is formed into a thin film and then is irradiated with light, only light-irradiated portions of the diacetylene monomer are selectively crosslinked due to photopolymerization, thereby resulting in insoluble negative-type micropatterns.

Provided is a method for manufacturing an electromagnetic shielding film, which includes: step 1), coating a photoresist on a conductive substrate, and then forming a pattern structure on the conductive substrate through a photolithography process; step 2), growing a metal layer in the pattern structure through a selective electrodeposition process to form a metal pattern structure; and step 3), embedding the metal pattern structure in a flexible base material through an imprinting process to form an electromagnetic shielding film. A method for manufacturing an electromagnetic shielding window is also provided.