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As the article points out, this is not a new technique. Increasing your resolving power by immersion of the target object in a liquid medium is actually used in
by nmc 12y ago
As the article points out, this is not a new technique. Increasing your resolving power by immersion of the target object in a liquid medium is actually used in ICs manufacturing.
This is because resolving power is directly proportional to numerical aperture, which is in turn proportional to the refractive index of the medium between the imaging device and the target object.
As a result, it works both ways: you can use it to increase resolution while either sending or receiving beams of light. For instance, the same technique is also used in light microscopy.
In the end, this is a clever and straightforward hack.
- spystath 12y agoYou are talking about immersion lithography. It replaces the air gap from the final lens of the lithography system with water which has greater IOR. AMD has been using it for a while, probably before the 45 nm node. Strangely enough Intel was not using it until the 32 nm node. It's the same hack with oil immersion lenses, basically, for the optical microscopes.
- dzordzduan 12y agoIf you didn't watch this video before... https://youtu.be/NGFhc8R_uO4?t=15m50s https://youtu.be/NGFhc8R_uO4?t=15m50s
- deckar01 12y agoThis is a great presentation on the evolution of transistor manufacturing processes. I didn't know how a transistor worked before watching this video, yet was engaged by the technical narrative of the semiconductor industry overcoming one physical constraint after the other.
- drzaiusapelord 12y agoPretty sure it predates even that. Some of the earliest lenses, especially before the ability to grind glass accurately, were water based. > Pliny the Elder (23-79AD) describes how glass balls filled with water could set clothes on fire when placed in line with the sun. Both Pliny and Seneca the Younger (3 BC-65 AD) also describe the magnifying effect of a glass globe filled with water.
- te 12y ago> Pliny the Elder (23-79AD) describes how glass balls filled with water could set clothes on fire when placed in line with the sun. Really? Sounds like a job for Adam and Jamie.