Fabrication of Oblique Submicron-Scale Structures Using Synchrotron Hard X-ray Lithography

Oblique submicron-scale structures are used in various aspects of research, such as the directional characteristics of dry adhesives and wettability. Although deposition, etching, and lithography techniques are applied to fabricate oblique submicron-scale structures, these approaches have the problem of the controllability or throughput of the structures. Here, we propose a simple X-ray-lithography method, which can control the oblique angle of submicron-scale structures with areas on the centimeter scale. An X-ray mask was fabricated by gold film deposition on slanted structures. Using this mask, oblique ZEP520A photoresist structures with slopes of 20 degrees and 10 degrees and widths of 510 nm and 345 nm were fabricated by oblique X-ray exposure, and the possibility of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molding was also confirmed. In addition, through double exposure with submicron- and micron-scale X-ray masks, dotted-line patterns were produced as an example of multiscale patterning.

Automated summary

The study presents a simple X-ray lithography method that enables control of the oblique angle of submicron-scale structures on a centimeter scale, as well as the fabrication of multiscale patterns.