A new generation optical lithography using a third harmonic pulse generated by micro-ring resonators

We first propose a new system of a third harmonic generation by using a soliton pulse circulating in the integrated micro-ring devices. By using this system, the ultra-short pulse in the attosecond (as) and beyond can be easily generated. In principle, light pulse known as a soliton pulse is input into a design system. It consist the three-stage micro-ring resonators, where the ring radii are within the range between 5 and 35 μm. With the appropriate parameters such as ring radius, coupling ratio and nonlinear refractive index, the attosecond pulse is generated by filtering the chaotic signals within the micro-ring devices. One of the results obtained has shown that the generation of the ultra narrow pulse (spectral width) and sharp tip is achieved. The potential of using such a pulse for picometer (pm)-scale lithography is plausible. © 2008 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.