other tech: Evanescent wave lithography enables optical imaging to smallest-ever level

Tweet Yongfa Fan, a doctoral student in RIT's microsystems engineering Ph.D. program, accomplished imaging rendered to 26 nanometers a size previously possible only via extreme ultraviolet wavelength, Smith says. By capturing images that are beyond the limits of classical physics, the breakthrough has allowed resolution to smaller than one-twentieth the wavelength of visible light, he adds.

The development comes at least five years sooner than anticipated, using the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (http://public.itrs.net) as a guide, Smith says. The roadmap, created by a consortium of industry groups, government organizations, universities, manufacturers and suppliers, assesses semiconductor technology requirements to ensure advancements in the performance of integrated circuits to meet future needs.