INL selects Vistec’s electron-beam lithography system EBPG5200 for nanotech research

BRAGA, PORTUGAL & WATERVLIET, USA: Vistec Lithography, a leading supplier of advanced electron-beam lithography systems has announced that the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) in Braga, Portugal has placed an order for Vistec’s electron-beam lithography system EBPG5200.

The Portuguese Laboratory is the first fully international research organization in Europe in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

The INL, which was established by Portugal and Spain some years ago, has now moved into the equipping phase of its new research facility, where the lithography equipment will play an important role.

With the Vistec EBPG5200 series and its unique and flexible nanoscale patterning capabilities, the INL has acquired one of the most advanced electron-beam lithography systems for nanotechnology research and development. Furthermore, this will be the first installation of an EBPG5200 system at the Iberian Peninsula.

The Vistec EBPG5200 is the latest version of the highly successive and field-proven EBPG electron-beam lithography tool series. The EBPG5200 system can be operated with both 50 and 100kV accelerating voltage and is equipped with a 50MHz pattern generator and full 20bit address technology.

Thanks to further enhancements in resolution, noise reduction and beam stability, the Vistec EBPG5200 is set to generate structures to less than 8nm on varying substrates sizes from piece parts of a few millimetres to full patterning across a 200mm diameter.

However, what makes Vistec’s electron beam lithography of superior standards so unique and actually possible, is the perfect match of the various system components such as the electron-optical column, the hardware platform, the data processor and the exposure engine working together in a flexible and user friendly system.

The system incorporates an interactive graphical user interface (GUI) that provides ease of use for diverse “multi user environments”.

“Nanotechnology has the potential to profoundly impact our future life in all aspects. The EBPG5200 opens up the opportunity to maintain highest flexibility and to keep our research activities on track with the challenging requirements of the future,” said Prof. Paulo Freitas, Deputy Director General at INL.

Rainer Schmid, GM at Vistec Lithography, noted: “At Vistec, we believe that it is essential to align with leading research organizations in the encouraging field of nanoscience and nanotechnology. That’s why we feel honored by INL’s choice to decide in favor of an EBPG5200.”