Double-Patterned Sidewall Directed Self-Assembly and Pattern Transfer of Sub-10 nm PTMSS-b-PMOST

Abstract

The directed self-assembly (DSA) of two sub-20 nm pitch silicon-containing block copolymers (BCPs) was accomplished using a double-patterned sidewall scheme in which each lithographic prepatterned feature produced two regions for pattern registration. In doing so, the critical dimension of the lithographic prepatterns was relaxed by a factor of 2 compared to previously reported schemes for DSA. The key to enabling the double-patterned sidewall scheme is the exploitation of the oxidized sidewalls of cross-linked polystyrene formed during the pattern transfer of the resist via reactive ion etching. This results in shallow trenches with two guiding interfaces per prepatterned feature. Electron loss spectroscopy was used to study and confirm the guiding mechanism of the double-patterned sidewalls, and pattern transfer of the BCPs into a silicon substrate was achieved using reactive ion etching. The line edge roughness, width roughness, and placement error are near the target required for bit-patterned media applications, and the technique is also compatible with the needs of the semiconductor industry for high-volume manufacturing.

Toward Scalable Flexible Nanomanufacturing for Photonic Structures and Devices

“…In addition, the original pattern remains in the DSA film, which makes the realization of a multilayer device architecture difficult. A combination of these two DSA principles is promising to overcome all of the above‐mentioned shortcomings …”

High-χ, Si-Containing Block Copolymers and Process Strategies for Directing Their Self-Assembly

“…It stands to reason that high-quality pattern fidelity may be maintained at even sparser pattern density (i.e. 4X -6X density multiplication) if the guiding pattern possessed both lateral and vertical guiding features, thus reducing the pitch and dimension demands placed on the lithography and trim etch steps [8][9][10]. This hypothesis has led our exploration of the so-called "hybrid" film stack shown in Figure 1b.…”

Thermal Approaches to Perpendicular Block Copolymer Microdomains in Thin Films: A Review and Appraisal

“…Of these reports, reports that promote perpendicular microdomains via thermal annealing are highly promising because they are easily reproducible and industry friendly. These methods include substrate modification, [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] use of top coats, [24,[47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57] incorporation of additives, [58][59][60][61][62][63][64] exploitation of the architecture effect, [65][66][67][68] use of modified [42,43,[69][70][71] or newly synthesized BCPs, [72][73][74]…”