Gas assisted focused electron beam induced etching of alumina

Abstract

Articles you may be interested inFocused helium and neon ion beam induced etching for advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography mask repair Nanometer fabrication using selective thermal desorption of SiO 2 induced by focused electron beams and electron beam interference fringes This study investigates focused electron beam induced etching for the removal of alumina particles on patterned extreme ultra violet ͑EUV͒ mask using nitrosyl chloride ͑NOCl͒ as assist gas. As potential contaminant, particles of aluminum oxide ͑alumina, Al 2 O 3 ͒ have been successfully removed, leaving the underlying layers undamaged. Particles were applied onto an EUV mask, consisting of a multilayer Bragg mirror capped with a thin ruthenium layer and a structured tantalum nitride ͑TaN / TaON͒ absorber/antireflective film. Alumina particles were selectively etched using the chlorine-based gas, NOCl. Neither the Ru nor the absorber was significantly etched during the process in spite of a square area scanned by the focused electron beam being larger than the particle. The process resolution is discussed based on Monte Carlo electron scattering simulations. Thermodynamic driving forces for the electron-induced reactions and its selectivity are discussed and a chemical rationale is proposed.

Chlorine based focused electron beam induced etching: A novel way to pattern germanium

“…This mask-free, resist-free technique gained much attention as subtractive lithography due to its material selectiveness, nanometer precision and direct alignment on the substrate [9,[11][12][13]. FEBIE has already been used to etch Titanium [14], GaAs [15], Silicon [16] and Alumina [17]. However, compared to the additive sibling of this technique-Focused Electron Beam Induced Deposition (FEBID)-very few work has been reported on FEBIE.…”

Crystallinity-retaining removal of germanium by direct-write focused electron beam induced etching

“…[14][15][16] Also, the focused electron beam induced etching of chromium, 17 alumina, 18 gallium arsenide, 19 or PMMA resist 20 could be carried out successfully. However, no focused electron beam induced etching process for germanium has been reported until now.…”

Small, Minimally Invasive, Direct: Electrons Induce Local Reactions of Adsorbed Functional Molecules on the Nanoscale

“…Oxygen co-injection with organometallic molecules like Si-(OC 2 H 5 ) 4 , Si(OCH 3 ) 4 , Si(CH 3 ) 4 , Si(NCO) 4 was shown to result in the deposition of pure, UV-transparent SiO 2 . [6] H 2 O, O 2 , and XeF 2 etch carbon efficiently but also readily oxidize or fluorinate metals under electron impact.…”

“…This functions very well for [AuClPF 3 ] (see Figures 1 a and 2 b), where a pure metal deposit (> 95 atom %) was obtained under high-vacuum conditions. [5] 4 ] generated relatively large phosphorus co-deposits. But why discard the wealth of organometallic chemistry if a second gas molecule could be co-injected and reacted to volatile carbon compounds upon electron irradiation as in Figures 1 b and 2 c? The balance of carbon co-deposition and etching would control the final metal-to-carbon ratio in the deposit.…”

“…[4] The surface must be etched by the electron-impact dissociation products rather than by the adsorbed molecules themselves. For local deposition, metal halogens (WF 6 , Figure 1.…”