Creation of sub-20-nm contact using diblock copolymer on a 300mm wafer for complementary metal oxide semiconductor applications

Abstract

The authors have demonstrated a method to form 20nm contact features of uniform size over a large area by integrating a self-assembling diblock copolymer with optical lithography. The diblock copolymer contacts are formed in topographical placers which are patterned with using optical lithography. A diblock copolymer pattern can only be formed in a placer and not in the narrower trenches that connect to the placer. This concept can be applied to form local interconnects using a single mask dual damascene process, where vias are self-aligned to the line. Some design rule restrictions must be applied to certain structures to enable patterning with diblock copolymer. They also observed that diblock copolymer contact formation was strongly influenced by the shape of the placer and the size of the cylindrical contact hole could be varied by the molecular weight of the block copolymer.

Contact holes patterning by directed self-assembly of block copolymers: process window study

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] In addition to its low-cost and easy of processing, DSA appears as a complementary technique to conventional lithography (EUV,193i) that permits one to overcome the intrinsic exposure limitations and push forward the resolution limit of the final feature. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] In addition to its low-cost and easy of processing, DSA appears as a complementary technique to conventional lithography (EUV,193i) that permits one to overcome the intrinsic exposure limitations and push forward the resolution limit of the final feature.…”

Block copolymer films with free interfaces: Ordering by nanopatterned substrates

“…As such, it has been considered as a legitimate next-generation microelectronics lithography technique for insertion at the sub-22 nm technology nodes [1,2].…”

Molecular Transfer Printing of Block Copolymer Patterns over Large Areas with Conformal Layers

“…Note that during the Patterns formed by the directed self-assembly (DSA) of block copolymers (BCPs) complement top-down patterning methodologies in next-generation microelectronics and memory devices. Possible applications of these methodologies include contact-hole shrink, [ 1,2 ] line roughness rectifi cation, [ 3,4 ] bit-patterned hard disk memory, [ 5 ] and FinFET transistors. [ 6 ] Many forms of DSA require fabrication of chemical [ 7,8 ] and/or topographic [ 9,10 ] nanopatterns with resolution near that of the BCP microdomain width, which is best achieved using advanced lithographic tools.…”