Sub-50 nm patterning by immersion interference lithography using a Littrow prism as a Lloyd's interferometer

We present a simple setup that combines immersion lithography with a Lloyd's mirror interferometer. Aiming for smaller structure sizes, we have replaced the usual Lloyd's interferometer by a triangular Littrow prism with one metal-coated side, which acts as a mirror. Because of the higher refractive index of the prism, the wavelength and, thus, the attainable structure sizes, are decreased significantly. Using a laser with a wavelength of 244nm, we could produce line patterns with a period of less than 100nm and a width of 45nm. The introduced setup retains all the advantages of a Lloyd's mirror interferometer, in particular the flexibility in periodicity.