Analysis of the causes of the appearance and influence of the LER effect on the properties of photonic integrated circuits

As part of this work, the analysis of the main factors leading to the appearance of the LER effect was carried out, as well as the features of the transmission of defects of the photoresistive mask to the structures being formed and methods for assessing the roughness of the edges of the mask and the morphology of the surfaces of nanostructures were studied. The features of the influence of lithographic processes and image transfer technologies on the topological characteristics of photonic integrated circuits (FIS), which affects the quality of the resulting structures, are considered. Additionally, the causes of morphological changes are analyzed and key approaches to controlling and reducing the LER effect are proposed: improving the photolithography process, choosing special materials and methods of their application to create anti-reflective coatings and hard masks, as well as the introduction of additional technologies such as plasma treatment and other methods of modifying the surface of the formed layers.