Method for manufacturing holographic blazed grating

Abstract

A method for fabricating a holographic blazed grating is provided. The method includes: coating a photoresist layer on a substrate; performing lithography on the photoresist layer to form a photoresist grating; performing vertical ion beam etching on the substrate by using the photoresist grating as a mask, to form a homogeneous grating by transferring a pattern of the photoresist grating onto the substrate; cleaning the substrate to remove remaining photoresist; performing tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching on the substrate by using the homogeneous grating as a mask, and etching different portions of the substrate by utilizing a obscuring effect of the homogeneous grating mask on the ion beam, to form a triangular groove shape of the blazed grating; and cleaning the substrate to obtain the holographic blazed grating.

Claims

1. A method for fabricating a holographic blazed grating, comprising: 1) coating a photoresist layer on a substrate; 2) performing lithography on the photoresist layer to form a photoresist grating; 3) performing vertical ion beam etching on the substrate by using the photoresist grating as a mask, to form a homogeneous grating by transferring a pattern of the photoresist grating onto the substrate; 4) cleaning the substrate to remove remaining photoresist; 5) performing tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching on the substrate by using the homogeneous grating as a mask, and etching different portions of the substrate by utilizing a obscuring effect of the homogeneous grating mask on the ion beam, to form a triangular groove shape of the blazed grating; and 6) cleaning the substrate to obtain the holographic blazed grating; and wherein both the homogeneous grating and the holographic blazed grating are formed on the same kind of material which is the substrate, and after the Step 2), the method further comprises performing an ashing process on the photoresist grating to regulate a duty cycle of the photoresist grating, wherein the ashing process is performed by putting the substrate with the photoresist grating into a reaction ion etcher and etching it by using oxygen reaction ion, and the duty cycle of the photoresist grating is regulated to be in a range from 0.25 to 0.35, such that the duty cycle of the homogeneous grating is in the range from 0.25 to 0.35.

2. The method for fabricating the holographic blazed grating according to claim 1, wherein the coated photoresist layer in the Step 1) has a thickness of 200 nm to 500 nm.

3. The method for fabricating the holographic blazed grating according to claim 1, wherein in the Step 3) an Ar ion beam etching method or a CHF.sub.3 reaction ion beam etching method is adopted as the vertical ion beam etching; wherein in the case that the Ar ion beam etching method is adopted, specific technological parameters are ion energy of 380 eV to 520 eV, an ion beam current of 70 mA to 140 mA, an acceleration voltage of 240 V to 300 V and a working pressure of 2.010.sup.2 Pa; in the case that the CHF.sub.3 reaction ion beam etching method is adopted, the specific technological parameters are ion energy of 300 eV to 470 eV, an ion beam current of 70 mA to 140 mA, an acceleration voltage of 200 V to 300 V and a working pressure of 1.410.sup.2 Pa.

4. The method for fabricating the holographic blazed grating according to claim 1, wherein a period of the grating ranges from 300 nm to 3000 nm.

5. The method for fabricating the holographic blazed grating according to claim 1, wherein the homogeneous grating is a rectangle grating or a trapezoid grating.

6. The method for fabricating the holographic blazed grating according to claim 1, an etching angle of the tilted Ar ion beam is equal to an angle required for the tilted Ar ion beam slanting from a vertex angle of the homogeneous grating to a base angle opposite to the vertex angle, due to a groove depth of the homogeneous grating.

7. The method for fabricating the holographic blazed grating according to claim 1, wherein in the Step 45) technological parameters for the tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching are ion energy of 380 eV to 520 eV, an ion beam current of 70 mA to 140 mA, an acceleration voltage of 240 V to 300 V, a working pressure of 2.010.sup.2 Pa and an etching angle of the tilted Ar ion beam of 8 degrees to 40 degrees.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In order to explain the technical solutions in embodiments of the present invention or the conventional technology more clearly, accompanying drawings of the embodiments or the conventional technology are briefly illustrated hereinafter. Apparently, the accompanying drawings described hereinafter are only a few of embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can further conceive other drawings according to the drawings without creative work.

(2) FIG. 1 is a general fabricating process diagram of the existing holographic ion beam etching blazed grating;

(3) FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for fabricating a holographic blazed grating according to the disclosure;

(4) FIG. 3 is a geometric relation graph for a rectangle grating;

(5) FIG. 4 is a geometric relation graph for a trapezoid grating;

(6) FIG. 5 is an effect schematic diagram corresponding to each of steps according to a first embodiment of the disclosure;

(7) FIG. 6 is an effect schematic diagram corresponding to each of steps according to a second embodiment of the disclosure;

(8) FIG. 7 is an effect schematic diagram corresponding to each of steps according to a third embodiment of the disclosure; and

(9) FIG. 8 is an effect schematic diagram corresponding to each of steps according to a fourth embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(10) In the existing method for fabricating a holographic blazed grating, a grating is fabricated on a photoresist layer, and the photoresist grating acts as a mask. There are the following issues in the above method. In the process of interference lithography, it is difficult to precisely control duty cycle, groove depth and groove shape of the photoresist grating due to the exposure technique and the developing technique. Therefore, it is difficult to precisely control the blaze angle.

(11) However, according to the present disclosure, firstly a homogeneous grating is fabricated on a substrate, and using the homogeneous grating as a mask, a blazed grating is formed by performing tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching. Compared with the conventional technique, the groove depth and groove shape of the homogeneous grating according to the disclosure may be controlled by controlling vertical ion beam etching, and the duty cycle of the grating may be controlled by performing an ashing process on the photoresist grating. Therefore, in fabricating the blazed grating, a required blaze angle may be obtained by appropriately setting the above-mentioned several parameters, and thus precisely controlling the fabrication technique for the blazed grating.

(12) Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for fabricating a holographic blazed grating according to the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the flowchart of the method for fabricating the holographic blazed grating according to the disclosure includes Step 11 to Step 16.

(13) Step 11 may include coating a photoresist layer on a substrate. The technique for coating photoresist layer may be spin-coating, or may also be steamed-coating. The coated photoresist layer has a thickness of 200 nm to 500 nm. The photoresist layer may be a positive photoresist layer, or may also be a negative photoresist layer, which may be depended on the subsequent different processes. In this disclosure, it is illustrated by taking the positive photoresist layer as an example.

(14) Step 12 may include performing interference lithography on the photoresist layer to form a photoresist grating. Laser interference lithography, or mask lithography may be adopted in the step of lithography. In the present disclosure, the laser interference lithography technology is adopted. Specifically, two or more beams of coherent light are formed after light emitted from a laser source is split into light paths, and the two or more beams of coherent light are converged on the surface of the photoresist layer by using a lens to form an interference pattern of light and dark regions. The property of the photoresist in the exposure region of the interference pattern changes. A surface relief grating structure is formed on the photoresist layer by developing.

(15) Optionally, after the photoresist grating structure is formed, an ashing process is performed on the photoresist layer. The duration for the ashing process depends on the required duty cycle of the grating. In general, the duty cycle of the grating structure formed by performing lithography on the photoresist ranges from 0.5 to 0.6. It is difficult to regulate the duty cycle of the grating by using lithography technique. Thus, the duty cycle of the photoresist grating structure is regulated by introducing the ashing technique in the present disclosure. With the ashing technique, the duty cycle of the grating structure may be regulated effectively in a range from 0.25 to 0.6.

(16) Step 13 may include performing vertical ion beam etching on the substrate by using the photoresist grating structure as a mask, to form a homogeneous grating by transferring the photoresist grating structure onto the substrate. An Ar ion beam etching method or a CHF.sub.3 reaction ion beam etching method may be adopted in the vertical ion beam etching. The specific technological parameters are ion energy of 380 eV to 520 eV, an ion beam current of 70 mA to 140 mA, an acceleration voltage of 240 V to 300 V and a working pressure of 2.010.sup.2 Pa, in the case that the Ar ion beam etching is adopted; and the specific technological parameters are ion energy of 300 eV to 470 eV, an ion beam current of 70 mA to 140 mA, an acceleration voltage of 200 V to 300 V and a working pressure of 1.410.sup.2 Pa, in the case that the CHF.sub.3 reaction ion beam etching method is adopted.

(17) Step 14 may include cleaning the substrate to remove remaining photoresist. After the vertical ion beam etching is completed, there is remaining photoresist on the surface of the substrate. The remaining photoresist is removed by using the solution of sulfuric acid mixing with oxidizer, and the remaining photoresist is removed by full reaction to expose the homogeneous grating on the substrate.

(18) Step 15 may include performing tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching on the substrate by using the homogeneous grating as a mask, to form a triangular groove shape of the blazed grating by etching different portions of the substrate with the obscuring effect of the mask formed by the homogeneous grating on the ion beam. An etching angle of the Ar ion beam is obtained according to the required blaze angle by the following empirical formula (1).
s3(1)

(19) In the empirical formula (1), s is the blaze angle of the blazed grating, and is the etching angle of the Ar ion beam. For example, if a blazed grating with a blaze angle s of 15 degrees is fabricated, the etching angle of the Ar ion beam is 18 degrees. In general application, the blaze angle s of the blazed grating is not more than 40 degrees, generally ranges from 5 degrees to 37 degrees. Therefore, the etching angle of the Ar ion beam may range from 8 degrees to 40 degrees. The specific technological parameters of the tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching are ion energy of 380 eV to 520 eV, an ion beam current of 70 mA to 140 mA, an acceleration voltage of 240 V to 300 V, and a working pressure of 2.010.sup.2 Pa.

(20) In Step 16 may include cleaning the substrate to obtain the holographic blazed grating.

(21) In the above-mentioned fabrication method, the groove shape of the homogeneous grating obtained by employing the vertical ion beam etching may be a rectangle or a trapezoid. Generally, in the case that the groove shape of the photoresist grating is regular, the groove shape of the homogeneous grating obtained by employing the vertical ion beam etching is a rectangle. However, since the durations for the upper portion and the lower portion of the photoresist reacting with the developer are different in developing the photoresist grating mask, the upper portion of the photoresist grating shrinks to make the groove shape of the grating into a cone. In this case, the homogeneous grating formed by performing the vertical ion beam etching and using the photoresist grating as a mask is a trapezoid. With respect to the homogeneous gratings with different groove shape, the durations for vertical ion beam etching, i.e., the groove depth of the homogeneous grating, are calculated by different formulas.

(22) For the rectangle grating, referring to FIG. 3, the calculation formula is

(23) $\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{tg}=\frac{d}{\left(1-f\right)}& \left(2\right)\end{array}$

(24) In formula (2), is the etching angle of the Ar ion beam, d is the groove depth of the homogeneous grating, is the period of the homogeneous grating, a is the width of the homogeneous grating and =a/ is the duty cycle of the homogeneous grating.

(25) For the trapezoid grating, referring to FIG. 4, the calculation formula is

(26) $\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{tg}=\frac{d}{\left(1-f\right)+\frac{d}{\mathrm{tg}}}& \left(3\right)\end{array}$

(27) In formula (3), is the etching angle of the Ar ion beam, d is the groove depth of the homogeneous grating, is the period of the homogeneous grating, a is the width of the homogeneous grating, =a/ is the duty cycle of the homogeneous grating and is the base angle of the trapezoid.

(28) In the above-mentioned two formulas, the based geometric relation is that: the etching angle of the tilted Ar ion beam is equal to the angle required for the tilted Ar ion beam slanting from a vertex angle of the homogeneous grating to a base angle opposite to the vertex angle, due to the groove depth of the homogeneous grating.

(29) The duration for the tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching is set appropriately to etch the homogeneous grating up. In practical application, due to technological conditions of the restrictions, there is remaining homogeneous grating during the process of the tilted Ar ion beam etching to avoid over-etching, and the remaining homogeneous grating forms a rake angle of the blazed grating.

(30) Optionally, the duty cycle of the homogeneous grating structure on the substrate ranges from 0.25 to 0.6, and the period of the homogeneous grating structure on the substrate ranges from 300 nm to 3000 nm.

(31) Hereinafter, the method for fabricating the holographic blazed grating according to the present disclosure is illustrated in detail by means of several specific embodiments. It is to be understood that the parameters specified in the under-mentioned several embodiments are only several specific applications in the scope protected by the disclosure, but are not to limit the scope of protection of the disclosure.

(32) First embodiment: referring to FIG. 5, which is an effect schematic diagram corresponding to each of steps according to the first embodiment of the disclosure. A holographic blazed grating with the period of 833 nm and the blaze angle s of 10 degrees is fabricated by using interference lithography, vertical ion beam etching and the tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching. The fabricated homogeneous grating is a rectangle grating, of which the duty cycle is =a/=0.5. The method for fabricating the holographic blazed grating according to the first embodiment of the disclosure includes the following steps.

(33) (1) A photoresist layer 11 having a thickness of 300 nm is coated on a quartz substrate 10.

(34) (2) Interference lithography is performed to form a photoresist grating mask 12.

(35) (3) Taking the rectangle grating (see FIG. 3) as an example, firstly the etching depth required for fabricating the blazed grating with the blaze angle s of 10 degrees is analyzed. It is obtained that the groove depth d of the homogeneous grating mask is 96 nm by the formula (2). The photoresist grating is transferred onto the substrate by using the photoresist grating 12 as a mask and performing ion beam etching, to form a homogeneous grating 13. The groove depth d is 96 nm. In this case, Ar ion beam etching is adopted, in which the ion energy is 400 eV, the ion beam current is 100 mA, the acceleration voltage is 260 V and the working pressure is 2.010.sup.2 Pa.

(36) (4) The substrate is cleaned to remove remaining photoresist.

(37) (5) By using the homogeneous grating 13 as a mask and performing tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching, the different portions of the substrate 10 are etched by utilizing the obscuring effect of the homogeneous grating mask on the ion beam, to form a triangular blazed grating 14. In this case, the etching angle of the ion beam is =s+3=13. The Ar ion beam etching is adopted, in which the ion energy is 450 eV, the ion beam current is 100 mA, the acceleration voltage is 260 V and the working pressure is 2.010.sup.2 Pa. The duration for etching is set appropriately to etch the homogeneous grating 13 up. And therefore the blazed grating 14 with the blaze angle s of 10 degrees is obtained.

(38) (6) The substrate is cleaned.

(39) Second embodiment: referring to FIG. 6, which is an effect schematic diagram corresponding to each of steps according to the second embodiment of the invention. A holographic blazed grating with the period of 833 nm and the blaze angle s of 15 degrees is fabricated by using interference lithography, vertical ion beam etching and the tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching. The fabricated homogeneous grating is a rectangle grating, of which the duty cycle is =a/=0.35. The method for fabricating the holographic blazed grating according to the second embodiment of the invention includes the following steps.

(40) (1) A photoresist layer 21 having a thickness of 500 nm is coated on a quartz substrate 20.

(41) (2) Interference lithography is performed to form a photoresist grating 22.

(42) (3) An ashing process is performed on the photoresist grating 22. The duty cycle of the photoresist grating 22 is regulated to form a new photoresist grating 22. A homogeneous grating with the duty cycle of 0.35 may be formed on the substrate 20 by transferring the photoresist grating 22. In general, the duty cycle of the photoresist grating 22 formed by the interference lithography ranges from 0.5 to 0.6. The duty cycle of the photoresist grating 22 is further shrunken after being processed by the ashing technology, to form the new photoresist grating 22. The duty cycle of the photoresist grating 22 may be approximately 0.35. In this case, the duty cycle of the homogeneous grating formed by using the new photoresist grating 22 as a mask can be regulated to 0.35. The specific ashing technology is as followed: the substrate with the photoresist grating is put into a reaction ion etcher and is etched by using oxygen reaction ion, in which the radio frequency power is 45 W, the self-bias is 300 V and the working pressure is 1.0 Pa.

(43) (4) The vertical ion beam etching is performed on the substrate 20 by using the above-mentioned photoresist grating 22 as the mask, and the groove shape of the photoresist grating 22 is transferred onto the substrate 20, to form a homogeneous grating 23. Firstly the etching depth required for manufacturing the grating with the blaze angle s of 15 degrees is analyzed. It is obtained that the groove depth d of the grating mask is 176 nm by the formula (2). The photoresist grating mask is transferred onto the substrate by using the photoresist grating 22 as a mask and performing ion beam etching, to form the homogeneous grating 23. The etched groove depth d is 176 nm. In this case, the CHF.sub.3 reaction ion beam etching is adopted, in which the ion energy is 400 eV, the ion beam current is 100 mA, the acceleration voltage is 240 V and the working pressure is 1.410.sup.2 Pa.

(44) (5) The substrate is cleaned to remove remaining photoresist.

(45) (6) By performing tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching, the different portions of the substrate 20 are etched by utilizing the obscuring effect of the mask formed by the homogeneous grating 23 on the ion beam, to form a triangular blazed grating groove shape. In this case, the etching angle of the ion beam is =s+3=18. The Ar ion beam etching is adopted, in which the ion energy is 450 eV, the ion beam current is 100 mA, the acceleration voltage is 260 V and the working pressure is 2.010.sup.2 Pa. The duration for etching is set appropriately so that the homogeneous grating mask is fully etched. And therefore the blazed grating 24 with the blaze angle s of 15 degrees is obtained.

(46) (7) The substrate is cleaned.

(47) Third embodiment: referring to FIG. 7, which is an effect schematic diagram corresponding to each of steps according to the third embodiment of the invention. A holographic blazed grating with the period of 500 nm and the blaze angle s of 20 degrees is fabricated by using interference lithography, vertical ion beam etching and tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching. The fabricated homogeneous grating is a trapezoid grating, of which the base angle is 80 degrees and the duty cycle is 0.5. The method for fabricating the holographic blazed grating according to the third embodiment of the invention includes the following steps.

(48) (1) A photoresist layer 31 having a thickness of 300 nm is coated on a substrate 30.

(49) (2) Interference lithography is performed to form a photoresist grating 32. Herein, in the process of developing the photoresist grating, since the durations for the upper portion and the lower portion of the photoresist reacting with the developer are different, the upper portion of the photoresist is narrower than the lower portion of the photoresist, so that the groove shape of the photoresist grating is cone-shaped.

(50) (3) The vertical ion beam etching is performed on the substrate 30 by using the photoresist grating 32 as a mask, and the groove shape of the photoresist grating 32 is transferred onto the substrate 30, to form a homogeneous grating 33. Firstly the etching depth d required for fabricating the grating with the blaze angle s of 20 degrees is analyzed. It is obtained that the groove depth d of the grating mask is 115 nm by the formula (3). The photoresist grating mask is transferred onto the substrate by using the photoresist grating 32 as a mask and performing vertical ion beam etching. The etched groove depth d is 115 nm. In this case, the Ar ion beam etching is adopted, in which the ion energy is 450 eV, the ion beam current is 100 mA, the acceleration voltage is 260 V and the working pressure is 2.010.sup.2 Pa.

(51) (4) The substrate is cleaned to remove remaining photoresist.

(52) (5) By performing tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching, the different portions of the substrate 30 are etched by utilizing the obscuring effect of the mask formed by the homogeneous grating 33 on the ion beam, to form a triangular groove shape of the blazed grating. In this case, the etching angle of the ion beam is =s+3=23. The Ar ion beam etching is adopted, in which the ion energy is 500 eV, the ion beam current is 100 mA, the acceleration voltage is 260 V and the working pressure is 2.010.sup.2 Pa. The duration for etching is set appropriately to etch the homogeneous grating mask up. And therefore the blazed grating 34 with the blaze angle s of 20 degrees is obtained.

(53) (6) The substrate is cleaned.

(54) Fourth embodiment: referring to FIG. 8, which is an effect schematic diagram corresponding to each of steps according to the fourth embodiment of the disclosure. A holographic blazed grating with the period of 2000 nm and the blaze angle s of 10 degrees is fabricated by using interference lithography, vertical ion beam etching and tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching. The fabricated homogeneous grating is a trapezoid grating, of which the base angle is 80 degrees and the duty cycle is 0.35. The method for fabricating the holographic blazed grating according to the fourth embodiment of the invention includes the following steps.

(55) (1) A photoresist layer 41 having a thickness of 500 nm is coated on a substrate 40.

(56) (2) Interference lithography is performed to form a photoresist grating 42.

(57) (3) An ashing process is performed on the photoresist grating 42. The duty cycle of the photoresist grating 42 is regulated to form a new photoresist grating 42. A homogeneous grating with the duty cycle of 0.35 may be formed on the substrate 40 after performing vertical ion beam etching on the photoresist grating 42. In general, the duty cycle of the photoresist grating 42 formed by the interference lithography ranges from 0.5 to 0.6. The duty cycle of the photoresist grating 42 is further shrunken after being processed by the ashing technology, to form the new photoresist grating 42. The duty cycle of the photoresist grating 42 may be approximately 0.35. In this case, the duty cycle of the homogeneous grating formed by using the new photoresist grating 42 as a mask can be regulated to 0.35. The specific ashing technique includes, the substrate with the photoresist grating is put into a reaction ion etcher and is etched by using oxygen reaction ion, in which the radio frequency power is 45 W, the self-bias is 300 V and the working pressure is 1.0 Pa.

(58) (4) The vertical ion beam etching is performed on the substrate 40 by using the above-mentioned photoresist grating 42 as the mask, and the groove shape of the photoresist grating 42 is transferred onto the substrate 40, to form a homogeneous grating 43. Firstly the etching depth required for fabricating the grating with the blaze angle s of 10 degrees is analyzed. It is obtained that the groove depth d of the homogeneous grating 43 is 313 nm by the formula (3). The photoresist grating mask is transferred onto the substrate 40 by using the photoresist grating 42 as a mask and performing ion beam etching. The etched groove depth is 313 nm. In this case, the CHF.sub.3 reaction ion beam etching is adopted, in which the ion energy is 450 eV, the ion beam current is 100 mA, the acceleration voltage is 260 V and the working pressure is 1.410.sup.2 Pa.

(59) (5) The substrate is cleaned to remove remaining photoresist.

(60) (6) By performing tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching, the different portions of the substrate 40 are etched by utilizing the obscuring effect of the mask formed by the homogeneous grating 43 on the ion beam, to form a triangular blazed grating groove shape. In this case, the etching angle of the ion beam is =s+3=13. The Ar ion beam etching is adopted, in which the ion energy is 500 eV, the ion beam current is 100 mA, the acceleration voltage is 260 V and the working pressure is 2.010.sup.2 Pa. The duration for etching is set appropriately to etch the homogeneous grating mask up. And therefore the blazed grating 44 with the blaze angle s of 10 degrees is obtained.

(61) (7) The substrate is cleaned.

(62) In above-mentioned embodiments, besides the quartz glass, the substrate may be K9 glass or other transparent optical materials.

(63) In summary, a method for fabricating a holographic blazed grating is provided according to the embodiments of the disclosure, in which firstly a homogeneous grating is fabricated on a substrate and tilted ion beam etching is performed by using the homogeneous grating as a mask to obtain the required blazed grating. The embodiments of the disclosure have the following features compared with the conventional technique.

(64) Firstly, the duration for vertical ion beam etching can be controlled in fabricating the homogeneous grating, thus the groove depth of the homogeneous grating is controlled precisely. Thereby an approach for controlling the blaze angle of the blazed grating is obtained.

(65) Secondly, after a photoresist grating is obtained by interference lithography, an ashing technique may further be performed to control the duty cycle of the grating, and the required duty cycle of the homogeneous grating is controlled. Thereby another approach for controlling the blaze angle of the blazed grating is obtained.

(66) Thirdly, in performing tilted Ar ion beam scanning etching, the etching rate for the mask and the substrate may always be consistent by using the homogeneous grating of the same material as the mask. Thereby the precision of fabricating the blazed grating is improved.

(67) The above description for the disclosed embodiments enables those of ordinary skill in the art to practice or use the disclosure. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications may be made to the embodiments, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.