Brimhall N, Andrew TL, Manthena RV, Menon R. Breaking the far-field diffraction limit in optical nanopatterning via repeated photochemical and electrochemical transitions in photochromic molecules.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2011;
107:205501. [PMID:
22181742 DOI:
10.1103/physrevlett.107.205501]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2011] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
By saturating a photochromic transition with a nodal illumination (wavelength, λ), one isomeric form of a small molecule is spatially localized to a region smaller than the far-field diffraction limit. A selective oxidation step effectively locks this pattern allowing repeated patterning. Using this approach and a two-beam interferometer, we demonstrate isolated lines as narrow as λ/8 (78 nm) and spacing between features as narrow as λ/4 (153 nm). This is considerably smaller than the minimum far-field diffraction limit of λ/2. Most significantly, nanopatterning is achieved via single-photon reactions and at low light levels, which in turn allow for high throughput.
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