Eulitha's PHABLE™ (PHOTONICS ENABLER) technology represents a significant advancement in the field of nanofabrication. It is a cutting-edge photolithography system optimized for high-throughput, cost-effective production of periodic nanostructures. The technology leverages a unique non-contact, proximity UV-lithography approach, allowing the generation of patterns with sub-micron resolution across large areas. This is especially beneficial for industries such as photonics and optoelectronics, where precision and repeatability are vital.
PHABLE's ability to create nanostructures rapidly without sacrificing resolution sets it apart from traditional lithography methods. Its unique advantage lies in its ability to generate an optical image with a substantial depth of focus, a feature not found in conventional proximity, contact, or projection lithography technologies. This makes it possible to print on non-flat surfaces, like LED wafers, effortlessly.
PHABLE™ is a mask-based UV photolithography technology, seamlessly integrating with existing infrastructure such as photoresists and photomasks. It enables the creation of periodic structures like arrays of holes on hexagonal or square lattices, or linear gratings over large areas at high throughput. The technology allows for the simultaneous printing of various patterns on a single chip or wafer, similar to how different circuits are printed on silicon wafers. Eulitha holds an extensive patent portfolio on this novel technology.
The applications are almost unlimited including:
Eulitha offers a unique photolithography system called PhableR 100 as well as a wide collection of Standard Patterns based on this technology. Patterning projects on customer substrates as well as custom fabrication solutions to address different customer requirements in photonic and other areas are also on offer. Eulitha has an extensive patent portfolio on this new technology with more than 10 patents issued or pending.
The unique advantage of PHABLE is its ability to generate an optical image that has a very large depth of focus. This is unlike any of the conventional proximity, contact or projection lithography technologies. Therefore printing on non-flat surfaces, such as LED wafers, is accomplished with ease. In contrast to holographic lithography, the image is defined by a pattern on a mask and so printing a different pattern only requires a simple change of the mask. It also enables simultaneous printing of various patterns on a single chip or a wafer in much the same way different circuits are printed on silicon wafers.
Improvement of the light extraction efficiency from active regions of GaN- based LEDs has been a major challenge for the LED industry. The high refractive index of the layers in which the light is generated means that a significant portion of the light is trapped inside which is eventually absorbed and lost. Patterning the surface of the LEDs with a photonic crystal pattern can improve the efficiency of these devices by a factor of 2-3. It also gives significant control over the angular distribution of the emitted light. The economic and environmental gains that may be derived from higher-efficiency LED devices are immense.
Similar photonic patterns are also needed for other applications such as nanowire-based LEDs and photovoltaic devices. Heteroepitaxy on patterned Si substrates and epitaxial layer overgrowth (ELO) methods also require periodic patterns. The list of emerging applications in the photonics sector that require nanostructures continues to grow. Currently available lithographic technologies either do not have the necessary performance such as the imaging resolution or the ability to print over non-flat surfaces, or their cost is prohibitively high. PHABLE™ technology is ideally suited to address these emerging manufacturing problems.
Sub-wavelength printing in the deep ultra-violet region using Displacement Talbot Lithography.
Li Wang, Francis Clube, Christian Dais, Harun H. Solak, Jens Gobrecht, Microelectronic Engineering, Volume 161, 104–108, (2016).
Phase shifting masks in Displacement Talbot Lithography for printing nano-grids and periodic motifs.
Harun H. Solak, Christian Dais, Francis Clube, Li Wang, Microelectronic Engineering, Volume 143, 74–80, (2015).
