Issue

Vol. 17 (2025)

Shadow-Assisted Sidewall Emission for Achieving Submicron Linewidth Light Source by Using Normal UV Photolithography

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01737-w
Junlong Li
College of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, People’s Republic of China
Yanmin Guo
College of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, People’s Republic of China
Kun Wang
College of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, People’s Republic of China
Wei Huang
College of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, People’s Republic of China
Hao Su
College of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, People’s Republic of China
Wenhao Li
College of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, People’s Republic of China
Xiongtu Zhou
College of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, People’s Republic of China
Yongai Zhang
College of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, People’s Republic of China
Tailiang Guo
College of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, People’s Republic of China
Chaoxing Wu
College of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Chaoxing Wu

chaoxing_wu@fzu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 17 (2025), Article Number: 228

Abstract

Micro light sources are crucial tools for studying the interactions between light and matter at the micro/nanoscale, encompassing diverse applications across multiple disciplines. Despite numerous studies on reducing the size of micro light sources and enhancing optical resolution, the efficient and simple fabrication of ultra-high-resolution micro light sources remains challenging due to its reliance on precise micro-nano processing technology and advanced processing equipment. In this study, a simple approach for the efficient fabrication of submicron light sources is proposed, namely shadow-assisted sidewall emission (SASE) technology. The SASE utilizes the widely adopted UV photolithography process, employing metal shadow modulation to precisely control the emission of light from polymer sidewalls, thereby obtaining photoluminescent light sources with submicron line widths. The SASE eliminates the need for complex and cumbersome manufacturing procedures. The effects of process parameters, including exposure dose, development time, and metal film thickness, on the linewidth of sources are investigated on detail. It is successfully demonstrated red, green, and blue submicron light sources. Finally, their potential application in the field of optical anti-counterfeiting is also demonstrated. We believe that the SASE proposed in this work provides a novel approach for the preparation and application of micro light sources.


Highlights:
1 The submicron light sources are realized only by the normal UV photolithography process, enabling the realization of submicron light sources with arbitrary patterns.
2 A novel and efficient method for the fabrication of submicron light sources is proposed, termed shadow-assisted sidewall emission.
3 The submicron light source fabricated by the shadow-assisted sidewall emission exhibits strong scalability and has been proved to be applicable in optical anti-counterfeiting.

Keywords

Submicron light source Quantum dot Photoluminescence Photolithography Shadow-assisted sidewall emission
Li, Junlong, Yanmin Guo, Kun Wang, Wei Huang, Hao Su, Wenhao Li, Xiongtu Zhou, Yongai Zhang, Tailiang Guo, and Chaoxing Wu. 2025. “Shadow-Assisted Sidewall Emission for Achieving Submicron Linewidth Light Source by Using Normal UV Photolithography”. Nano-Micro Letters 17 (April):228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01737-w.
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