Recent developments in nanofabrication using ion projection lithography

Ion projection lithography (IPL) is an emerging technology and a major candidate for the next-generation lithography (NGL) designed to complement and supplement current optical lithographic techniques for future chip manufacturing. In this Review, the recent developments of IPL technology are examined with an emphasis on its ability to fabricate a wide variety of nanostructures for the semiconductor industry. Following an introduction of the uniqueness and strength of the technology, the basics of ion-source development and ion-target interactions with and without chemical enhancement are presented. The developments in equipment systems, masks, and resists are subsequently studied. The resolution of printed nanostructures and the corresponding throughput of the current system are assessed for NGL. Finally, concluding remarks are presented to summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the current technology and to suggest the scope for,future improvement.