Acid diffusion analysis in the chemically amplified CARL resist

Richter, Ernst; Hien, Stefan; Sebald, Michael

doi:10.1016/s0167-9317(00)00360-9

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Otherwise, in the acid diffusion-controlled region below 110 °C a temperature increase has apparently a greater influence on the parameter τ. Peterson and Byers showed that at adequate temperatures for protection group cleavage two catalytic regions become dominant (pseudo-Arrhenius behavior). Below the inflection temperature (i.e., T g of exposed resist) the catalytic reaction is diffusion-controlled and above the reaction is activation-controlled . This is in agreement with that observed in Figure .…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Below the inflection temperature (i.e., T g of exposed resist) the catalytic reaction is diffusion-controlled and above the reaction is activation-controlled. 30 This is in agreement with that observed in Figure 8. As shown in the inset of Figure 8, the relationship between the reaction rate and its energy requirements is defined in terms of the Arrhenius equation k obs = A exp(ÀE A /RT), where A is the pre-exponential factor, R is the gas constant, T is the absolute temperature, and E A is the activation energy.…”

Section: Investigation Of the Process Conditionssupporting

confidence: 93%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Understanding Acid Reaction and Diffusion in Chemically Amplified Photoresists: An Approach at the Molecular Level

Rodríguez-Cantó

Nickel

Abargues³

2011

J. Phys. Chem. C

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Acid diffusion in chemically amplified resist might limit the ultimate minimum half-pitch that can be achieved with high sensitivity resists unless diffusion length is reduced until new methods of sensitizing resists are found. Precise knowledge of molecular dynamics of resist materials and advanced techniques need to be developed actively for this issue. In this sense, computer simulations have become a valuable tool in terms of reducing time and costs. However, simulations are generally based on continuum or mesoscale models, which are unable to accurately predict variations at the molecular level. Deeper understanding and investigation of the coupled reaction-diffusion kinetics at the molecular scale during the postexposure bake (PEB) become crucial to achieve nanoscale features with good critical dimension control and good line-edge roughness. In this work we have developed a molecular level approach for understanding of the coupled acid-catalyzed diffusion process in chemically amplified resist systems. Here, the molecules of photoacid generator are selected as the building blocks of a three-dimensional grid. Reaction and diffusion of the photoconverted acid molecules during the PEB step will produce resist volumes of cleaved polymers. After a certain PEB time τ, these created volumes produced by adjacent acids will almost contact each other, enabling the subsequent development of the polymer. We also determine this parameter τ by means of experiments with real resist systems and investigate the influence of the process conditions on it.

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Investigation Of the Process Conditionssupporting

confidence: 93%

Understanding Acid Reaction and Diffusion in Chemically Amplified Photoresists: An Approach at the Molecular Level

Rodríguez-Cantó

Nickel

Abargues³

2011

J. Phys. Chem. C

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The final result of the acid diffusion was image spreading of the photoactive region, which is a common limitation of the linewidth resolution of resists. [74][75][76][77] The diffusion of photogenerated acid into unexposed regions also led a decrease of the waveguide core linewidth owing to decomposition of PNC as acid molecules permeated the core/cladding boundary. Preliminary studies have shown that, depending on PEB conditions, patterned core linewidths varied from being between 3 mm and 17 mm thinner than the width of the opaque lines on the photomask thus limiting the fine-feature patterning capability of the direct-write process to features with dimensions measuring several microns.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

UV-induced porosity using photogenerated acids to catalyze the decomposition of sacrificial polymers templated in dielectric films

et al. 2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A UV-initiated process for selective incorporation of porosity and tuning of refractive index in a dielectric film is presented. The formation of porosity via radiation offers the advantages of lower processing temperatures and shorter processing times than most processes that rely on thermallyinduced porosity. The ability to pattern porosity via the use of a photomask allows structures such as porous direct-write waveguides to be made. The direct-write process presented here used UVgenerated acids to catalyze the decomposition of sacrificial polymers templated in a crosslinked matrix, resulting in the formation of porosity and decrease of refractive index and dielectric constant after subsequent removal of the generated acid. In unexposed areas, no acid molecules were generated, thus these areas remained non-porous and their refractive index remained relatively high compared to porous regions. Base-catalyzed gelation was used to crosslink the matrix at temperatures well below the glass transition temperature of the matrix in order to avoid thermal activation of the photoacid generators (PAGs) in the direct-write formulation. After crosslinking the matrix, deep ultraviolet (DUV) radiation was used to initiate the direct-write reactions thus creating a refractive index profile within the film. Neutralization or volatilization of the photogenerated acid was used to deactivate the system. The lowest interline dielectric constant achieved by direct-written films was 2.36 after the volatilization step compared to a value of 2.29 for porous films formed via the traditional template process. At optimum conditions, the average amount of UV-induced porosity was estimated to be as high as 21%. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging showed that elongated mesopores (10 nm by about 20-30 nm) and elongated macropores (100 nm by about 200 nm in size) were produced within the internal structure of direct-written films. The porous films formed via the traditional template technique had internal structures with large collections of spherical mesopores (5-10 nm) located in close proximity to one another due to phase segregation of the polymer at high temperatures.

show abstract

“…6,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] However, the positions and shapes of these spectra generally depend on the chemical composition of the host matrix. 6,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] However, the positions and shapes of these spectra generally depend on the chemical composition of the host matrix.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Calibration and validation of projection lithography focusing by fluorescence detection of latent photoacid images in chemically amplified resist

Feke

Grober

Pohlers³

et al. 2002

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Articles you may be interested inResolution blur of latent acid image and acid generation efficiency of chemically amplified resists for electron beam lithography J. Appl. Phys. 99, 054509 (2006); 10.1063/1.2173689On-wafer spectrofluorometric evaluation of the response of photoacid generator compounds in chemically amplified photoresistsWe dope the commercial resist UVIII with the pH sensitive dye coumarin 6 ͑C6͒ to demonstrate a fluorescence microscopy technique for detecting latent photoacid images in exposed chemically amplified resist films. The spectroscopic properties of C6 in the resist matrix are investigated in order to select spectroscopic filters which optimize the fluorescence image contrast of exposed patterns. We apply this technique to focus calibration of a projection lithography system and show a significant correlation of the results to scanning electron microscope analysis of developed features. Hence, we demonstrate the utility of this technique as a fabrication line diagnostic for focus calibration and validation ͑i.e., proof of focus͒ prior to postexposure processing of the resist film.

show abstract

Acid diffusion analysis in the chemically amplified CARL resist

Cited by 10 publications

References 1 publication

Understanding Acid Reaction and Diffusion in Chemically Amplified Photoresists: An Approach at the Molecular Level

Understanding Acid Reaction and Diffusion in Chemically Amplified Photoresists: An Approach at the Molecular Level

UV-induced porosity using photogenerated acids to catalyze the decomposition of sacrificial polymers templated in dielectric films

Calibration and validation of projection lithography focusing by fluorescence detection of latent photoacid images in chemically amplified resist

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About