0000000000042541
AUTHOR
Rattanaporn Norarat
Development of procedures for programmable proximity aperture lithography
Abstract Programmable proximity aperture lithography (PPAL) with MeV ions has been used in Jyvaskyla and Chiang Mai universities for a number of years. Here we describe a number of innovations and procedures that have been incorporated into the LabView-based software. The basic operation involves the coordination of the beam blanker and five motor-actuated translators with high accuracy, close to the minimum step size with proper anti-collision algorithms. By using special approaches, such writing calibration patterns, linearisation of position and careful backlash correction the absolute accuracy of the aperture size and position, can be improved beyond the standard afforded by the repeata…
Advanced time-stamped total data acquisition control front-end for MeV ion beam microscopy and proton beam writing
Many ion-matter interactions exhibit [email protected] time dependences such as, fluorophore emission quenching and ion beam induced charge (IBIC). Conventional event-mode MeV ion microbeam data acquisition systems discard the time information. Here we describe a fast time-stamping data acquisition front-end based on the concurrent processing capabilities of a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The system is intended for MeV ion microscopy and MeV ion beam lithography. The speed of the system (>240,000 events s^-^1 for four analogue to digital converters (ADC)) is limited by the ADC throughput and data handling speed of the host computer.
A gas ionisation Direct-STIM detector for MeV ion microscopy
Abstract Direct-Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy (Direct-STIM) is a powerful technique that yields structural information in sub-cellular whole cell imaging. Usually, a Si p-i-n diode is used in Direct-STIM measurements as a detector. In order to overcome the detrimental effects of radiation damage which appears as a broadening in the energy resolution, we have developed a gas ionisation detector for use with a focused ion beam. The design is based on the ETH Frisch grid-less off-axis Geiger–Muller geometry. It is developed for use in a MeV ion microscope with a standard Oxford Microbeams triplet lens and scanning system. The design has a large available solid angle for other detectors …
Objective improvement of the visual quality of ion microscope images
The need to operate with low ion beam fluences implies the images obtained using ion microscope (IM) are often grainy and have poor visual quality compared to what can be obtained using e.g. confocal microscopy. This results from the Poissonian distribution of counts in pixels. Here we report work on some different approaches for objectively improving the visual quality of IM images. In this work we present (i) dramatic improvement in the visual image quality of off-axis and direct-scanning transmission ion microscopy (STIM) images by suppression of zero-pixels; (ii) denoising of PIXE images using wavelet filtering and (iii) use of the feature preserving characteristics of wavelet filtering…
Lithographic fabrication of soda-lime glass based microfluidics
Abstract Glass is an important material for chemical processing and analysis because of its relatively low cost, mechanical strength, chemical inertness, optical transparency, and electrical insulation and temperature resistance far beyond that of most polymeric materials. We have investigated techniques for direct writing with MeV ions on soda-lime glass as well as capping procedures to form closed buried channels suitable for high-pressure driven flow. Exposure and development of open-channel structures was studied using a combination of programmable proximity aperture lithography and different developers. Unlike our previous work on MeV ion beam lithography of natural silica where an 8% …
Why are hydrogen ions best for MeV ion beam lithography?
The exposure characteristics of poly-(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) for 2MeV ^1H^+, 3MeV ^4He^2^+ and 6MeV ^1^2C^3^+ have been investigated. The samples were characterised using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Development was carried out using a 7:3 propan-2-ol:H"2O mixture to determine clearing and cross-linking fluences. It was found that protons had a considerably wider tolerance to exposure variations and a smaller span of doses within the ion track. Furthermore, the void formation and consequent stress-induced surface roughening were smaller for protons. For all ions, the C?C bond Raman signal increased continuously with dose and fluence, even we…
Development of the Jyväskylä microbeam facility
Abstract A new microbeam facility is being constructed at the 1.7 MV Pelletron Accelerator in Jyvaskyla. The facility is designed for easy upgrading and incorporates a number of innovative features. Initially, it is based on a Heidelberg doublet with a design capability of a 3 × 5 μm beamspot at PIXE intensities and later upgraded to nanobeam performance. A thermal-expansion compensated rigid frame mounted on a mechanically isolated floor section is used to support the ion optical components. A compact-post focusing electrostatic deflector is used for high linearity beam scanning. This together with a novel time-stamped data collection (TDC) allows dynamic effects in IBIC, fluorescence blea…
Direct Writing of Channels for Microfluidics in Silica by MeV Ion Beam Lithography
The lithographic exposure characteristic of amorphous silica (SiO2) was investigated for 6.8 MeV16O3+ions. A programmable proximity aperture lithography (PPAL) technique was used for the ion beam exposure. After exposure, the exposed pattern was developed by selective etching in 4% v/v HF. Here, we report on the development of SiO2in term of the etch depth dependence on the ion fluence. This showed an exponential approach towards a constant asymptotic etch depth with increasing ion fluence. An example of microfluidic channels produced by this technique is demonstrated.
Ion-induced fluorescence imaging of endosomes
Abstract Imaging laboratories at Jyvaskyla and Singapore are collaborating on the development of fluorescence imaging of cytoplasmic endosomes using a combination of proton induced fluorescence (PIF) with direct Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy (direct-STIM) for sub-cellular structural imaging. A549 lung carcinoma cells were cultivated and stained for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and receptor α2β1 integrin. In this paper, we demonstrate that cells can be imaged at sub-150 nm resolution using the PIF technique. In addition, the same target cell was imaged at 50 and 25 nm resolution by using proton and He-STIM, respectively. The combination of both techniques offer a powerful t…
MeV ion beam lithography of biocompatible halogenated Parylenes using aperture masks
Parylenes are poly(p-xylylene) polymers that are widely used as moisture barriers and in biomedicine because of their good biocompatibility. We have investigated MeV ion beam lithography using 16O+ ions for writing defined patterns in Parylene-C, which is evaluated as a coating material for the Cochlear Implant (CI) electrode array, a neuroprosthesis to treat some forms of deafness. Parylene-C and -F on silicon and glass substrates as well as 50 μm thick PTFE were irradiated to different fluences (1×1013-1×10161×1013-1×1016 1 MeV 16O+ ions cm−2) through aperture masks under high vacuum and a low pressure (<10−3 mbar) oxygen atmosphere. Biocompatibility of the irradiated and unirradiated …
Lithography exposure characteristics of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) for carbon, helium and hydrogen ions
Abstract Poly(methyl methacrylate) is a common polymer used as a lithographic resist for all forms of particle (photon, ion and electron) beam writing. Faithful lithographic reproduction requires that the exposure dose, Θ, lies in the window Θ 0 ⩽ Θ Θ × 0 , where Θ 0 and Θ × 0 represent the clearing and cross-linking onset doses, respectively. In this work we have used the programmable proximity aperture ion beam lithography systems in Chiang Mai and Jyvaskyla to determine the exposure characteristics in terms of fluence for 2 MeV protons, 3 MeV 4 He 2 + and 6 MeV 12 C 3 + ions, respectively. After exposure the samples were developed in 7:3 by volume propan-2-ol:de-ionised water mixture. At…