Researchers at Bilkent University have made a breakthrough in nanostructuring inside silicon, allowing for the creation of complex structures with unprecedented control. Traditional methods were limited by the micron-scale resolution of laser lithography and surface-level nanofabrication.
The team developed an innovative technique using spatial light modulation to overcome optical scattering effects and achieve precise energy deposition. This resulted in the formation of extremely small, localized voids inside the silicon wafer.
The process involves seeding with preformed subsurface nano-voids, which establish strong field enhancement around their immediate neighborhood. This leads to the creation of nanophotonic elements buried in silicon, such as nanogratings with high diffraction efficiency and spectral control.
The researchers achieved feature sizes down to 100 nm, an order of magnitude improvement over the state-of-the-art. They used spatially-modulated laser pulses, which enable precise energy localization and the creation of diverse nano-arrays with high precision.
The team demonstrated large-area volumetric nanostructuring and proof-of-concept buried nano-photonic elements, paving the way for the development of novel systems with unique architectures. The breakthrough has significant implications for electronics, photonics, and beyond.+
+Source: https://phys.org/news/2024-07-unprecedented-nanostructuring-silicon.html