Electron caustic lithography

A maskless method of electron beam lithography is described which uses the reflection of an electron beam from an electrostatic mirror to produce caustics in the demagnified image projected onto a resist–coated wafer. By varying the electron optics, e.g. via objective lens defocus, both the morphology and dimensions of the caustic features may be controlled, producing a range of bright and tightly focused projected features. The method is illustrated for line and fold caustics and is complementary to other methods of reflective electron beam lithography.