Mediaspace scheduled maintenance: Aug 25, 2026 07:00 - 12:00 AM. During this time, videos will be temporarily unavailable. Check status updates.

Lecture

Advanced Nanomanufacturing: Lithography & Self-Assembly

In course

MICRO-724: Advanced topics in micro- and nanomanufacturing: top-down meets bottom-up

This course introduces advanced fabrication methods enabling the manufacturing of novel micro- and nanosystems (NEMS/MEMS). Both top-down techniques (lithography, stenciling, scanning probes, additive techniques) and bottom-up approaches (self-assembly) ar ...

Description

This lecture covers advanced topics in micro- and nanomanufacturing, focusing on lithography techniques like electron beam lithography and focused ion beam fabrication. It also explores the self-assembly of block copolymers for nanoscale patterning, discussing phase separation, neutralization layers, and directed self-assembly methods. The synergy between top-down and bottom-up fabrication approaches is highlighted, emphasizing the potential for high-resolution device fabrication.

Instructors (2)

Massimo Mastrangeli

Jürgen Brugger

I am a Professor of Microengineering and co-affiliated to Materials Science. Before joining EPFL I was at the MESA Research Institute of Nanotechnology at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, at the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, and at the Hitachi Central Research Laboratory, in Tokyo, Japan. I received a Master in Physical-Electronics and a PhD degree from Neuchâtel University, Switzerland. Research in my laboratory focuses on various aspects of MEMS and Nanotechnology. My group contributes to the field at the fundamental level as well as in technological development, as demonstrated by the start-ups that spun off from the lab. In our research, key competences are in micro/nanofabrication, additive micro-manufacturing, new materials for MEMS, increasingly for wearable and biomedical applications. Together with my students and colleagues we published over 200 peer-refereed papers and I had the pleasure to supervise over 25 PhD students. Former students and postdocs have been successful in receiving awards and starting their own scientific careers. I am honoured for the appointment in 2016 as Fellow of the IEEE “For contributions to micro and nano manufacturing technology”. In 2017 my lab was awarded an ERC AdvG in the field of advanced micro-manufacturing.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Chemical engineering

Nanotechnology: Topics in nanotechnology

Related concepts (32)

Electron-beam lithography

Electron-beam lithography (often abbreviated as e-beam lithography, EBL) is the practice of scanning a focused beam of electrons to draw custom shapes on a surface covered with an electron-sensitive film called a resist (exposing). The electron beam changes the solubility of the resist, enabling selective removal of either the exposed or non-exposed regions of the resist by immersing it in a solvent (developing). The purpose, as with photolithography, is to create very small structures in the resist that can subsequently be transferred to the substrate material, often by etching.

Self-assembly

Self-assembly is a process in which a disordered system of pre-existing components forms an organized structure or pattern as a consequence of specific, local interactions among the components themselves, without external direction. When the constitutive components are molecules, the process is termed molecular self-assembly. Self-assembly can be classified as either static or dynamic. In static self-assembly, the ordered state forms as a system approaches equilibrium, reducing its free energy.

Molecular self-assembly

In chemistry and materials science, molecular self-assembly is the process by which molecules adopt a defined arrangement without guidance or management from an outside source. There are two types of self-assembly: intermolecular and intramolecular. Commonly, the term molecular self-assembly refers to the former, while the latter is more commonly called folding. Molecular self-assembly is a key concept in supramolecular chemistry. This is because assembly of molecules in such systems is directed through non-covalent interactions (e.

Self-assembly of nanoparticles

Nanoparticles are classified as having at least one of three dimensions be in the range of 1-100 nm. The small size of nanoparticles allows them to have unique characteristics which may not be possible on the macro-scale. Self-assembly is the spontaneous organization of smaller subunits to form larger, well-organized patterns. For nanoparticles, this spontaneous assembly is a consequence of interactions between the particles aimed at achieving a thermodynamic equilibrium and reducing the system’s free energy.

Nanoimprint lithography

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a method of fabricating nanometer scale patterns. It is a simple nanolithography process with low cost, high throughput and high resolution. It creates patterns by mechanical deformation of imprint resist and subsequent processes. The imprint resist is typically a monomer or polymer formulation that is cured by heat or UV light during the imprinting. Adhesion between the resist and the template is controlled to allow proper release.

Related lectures (35)

Nanofabrication Techniques

Explores nanofabrication techniques, self-assembly, and engineering challenges at micro and nanoscale.

Lithography: Microfabrication Technologies

Explores lithography in microfabrication technologies, covering thin film deposition, print resolution, process flow, and limitations imposed by diffraction.

Lithography: Alternative Patterning Methods MOOC: Micro and Nanofabrication (MEMS)

Explores alternative lithography methods like nanoimprint and stencil lithography for nanowire fabrication and exotic surface patterning.

Self-organized growth at surfaces

Explores self-organized growth at surfaces and covers instrumentation, destructive exposure, manipulation with SIM, nanostructures, and thin film growth.

Microfabrication Technologies