[[extropy-chat] diffraction limit

[scerir]

From: "Dan Clemmensen" 

> >If lambda is the (de Broglie) wavelenght
> >of an individual photon, using N entangled
> >(correlated) photons it could be possible
> >to imagine to reduce the "diffraction limit" 
> >and also the minimum feature size of chips, 
> >since, in this case, the wavelenght might 
> >be lambda/N.

> I don't know if you can do this "in bulk." if you must use a single 
> beam, you lose the advantage of parallel simultaneous exposure, and the 
> exposures then take too long for efficient production. This is why 
> electron-beam lithography is not used for production. The wavelength of 
> an electron is quite small, so an electron beam can "draw" finer lines 
> than a light source can. E-beams are used to make the phase-shift masks. 
> The masks are then used to make (many, many) semiconductor devices.

I do not know either. Using entangled photons (usual SPDC tech)
it would be possible to achieve 20nm features (Boto et al.).

But, if the diffraction limit is "violated" by entangled particles, 
it would be possible, at least in principle, to use entangled 
electrons (or entangled kaons :-)) to make better phase-shift
masks. I mean, a beam made of entangled electrons.

It is also possible that atom lithography would be,
in any case, much better!
http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0209084
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/10/2/1
http://physicsweb.org/article/world/11/8/3/1

("Apparent" violations of the Uncertainty
Principle "between" entangled particles -
which are a single particle - is another,
very speculative, and very remote possibility
http://www.arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9905039 )

Regards,
s.