Breaking the Far-Field Diffraction Limit in Optical Nanopatterning via Repeated Photochemical and Electrochemical Transitions in Photochromic Molecules

Nicole Brimhall, Trisha L. Andrew, Rajakumar Varma Manthena, and Rajesh Menon
Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 205501 – Published 7 November 2011
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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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  • Received 8 July 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.205501

© 2011 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Nicole Brimhall1, Trisha L. Andrew2, Rajakumar Varma Manthena1, and Rajesh Menon1,*

  • 1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA
  • 2Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA

  • *rmenon@eng.utah.edu

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Vol. 107, Iss. 20 — 11 November 2011

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