Manipulation of Micro Condensed Matter by Direct Peeling Method by Using Atomic Force Microscope Tip

Understanding manipulation properties of polymer nanoscale pattern is of crucial importance for development of not only MEMS/NEMS devices but other functional devices in the nanometer scale. Quantitative analysis of peel and manipulate properties of an ArF dot resist pattern ranging from 141 to 405 nm diameter and 360 nm height is demonstrated experimentally. By directly applying a certain load to top corner of resist pattern with a micro cantilever tip, a resist dot pattern can be peeled easily from a substrate accompanying slight residue formation. The load required for pattern peel decreases with decreasing the pattern diameter. In combination with the analysis of internal stress distribution in the resist pattern, an optimum condition for successful manipulation condition can be obtained. The rearrangement of 141nm diameter pattern can be demonstrated by the tip manipulation technique.