LER Limitations of Resist Thin Films

Cardineau, Brian; Early, William; Fujisawa, Tomohisa; Maruyama, Ken; Shimizu, Makato; Sharma, Shalini; Petrillo, Karen; Brainard, Robert L.

doi:10.2494/photopolymer.25.633

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Confinement's effects on the spatial extent of the reaction front in ultrathin chemically amplified photoresists have been described in literature. [21][22][23] As resist thickness decrease, fundamental materials properties of the confined resist polymer can deviate from bulk values and impact processing parameters such as the PEB temperature and LWR. The glass transition temperature, T g of ultrathin polymer films have shown an increase or decrease with film thickness with a dependence upon the nature of the interaction between the polymer and the substrate with Thermal Probe Measurements.…”

Section: Nm Cmos Application: Lwr Mitigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress and process improvements for multiple electron-beam direct write

Servin

Pourteau

Pradelles

et al. 2017

Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.

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Massively parallel electron beam direct write (MP-EBDW) lithography is a cost-effective patterning solution, complementary to optical lithography, for a variety of applications ranging from 200 to 14 nm. This paper will present last process/integration results to achieve targets for both 28 and 45 nm nodes. For 28 nm node, we mainly focus on line-width roughness (LWR) mitigation by playing with stack, new resist platform and bias design strategy. The lines roughness was reduced by using thicker spin-on-carbon (SOC) hardmask (−14%) or non-chemically amplified (non-CAR) resist with bias writing strategy implementation (−20%). Etch transfer into trilayer has been demonstrated by preserving pattern fidelity and profiles for both CAR and non-CAR resists. For 45 nm node, we demonstrate the electron-beam process integration within optical CMOS flows. Resists based on KrF platform show a full compatibility with multiple stacks to fit with conventional optical flow used for critical layers. Electron-beam resist performances have been optimized to fit the specifications in terms of resolution, energy latitude, LWR and stack compatibility. The patterning process overview showing the latest achievements is mature enough to enable starting the multi-beam technology pre-production mode.

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Section: Nm Cmos Application: Lwr Mitigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress and process improvements for multiple electron-beam direct write

Servin

Pourteau

Pradelles

et al. 2017

Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.

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“…However, these typically reduce the performance of the resist, for instance impacting on the dose, or increasing the LER because of material stochastics. [6] Irresistible Materials has developed a new category of resist chemistry that addresses these limitations called 'Multi-Trigger Resist'. In a Multi-Trigger resist, multiple distinct chemical reactions must take place simultaneously and in close proximity for the amplification process to proceed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-trigger resist for electron beam lithography

Popescu

McClelland²,

Dawson

et al. 2017

33rd European Mask and Lithography Conference

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Irresistible Materials is developing a new molecular resist system that demonstrates high-resolution capability based on the Multi-trigger concept. In a Multi-Trigger resist, multiple distinct chemical reactions in chemical amplification process must take place in close proximity simultaneously during resist exposure. Thus, at the edge of a pattern feature, where the density of photo-initiators that drive the chemical reactions is low, the amplification process ceases. This significantly reduces blurring effects and enables much improved resolution and line edge roughness while maintaining the sensitivity advantages of chemical amplification. A series of studies such as enhanced resist crosslinking, elimination of the nucleophilic quencher and the addition of high-Z additives to e-beam resist (as a means to increase sensitivity and modify secondary electron blur) were conducted in order to optimize the performance of this material. The optimized conditions allowed patterning down to 28 nm pitch lines with a dose of 248 µC/cm 2 using 100kV e-beam lithography, demonstrating the potential of the concept. Furthermore, it was possible to pattern 26 nm diameter pillars on a 60 nm pitch with dose of 221µC/cm 2 with a line edge roughness of 2.3 nm.

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“…Linewidths below 100 nm at sensitivities of < 10 µC/cm 2 were demonstrated with well-established chemically amplified positive tone resists such as UVIII [16,17], AZPF514 [15], or IBM KRS-XE [18,19]. Using state-of-the-art CA resists, even sub 30 nm resolutions were demonstrated [20][21][22][23][24]. In addition to their high sensitivity and etch resistance, CA resists have the benefit of mix & match applications, which combine EBL with photolithography: micron patterns such as the periphery and contact pads are exposed by photolithography, whereas high-resolution, submicron patterns are exposed by EBL, further increasing the throughput [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Highly robust electron beam lithography lift-off process using chemically amplified positive tone resist and PEDOT:PSS as a protective coating

Kofler¹,

Schmoltner²,

Klug³

et al. 2014

J. Micromech. Microeng.

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Highly sensitive chemically amplified resists are well suited for large-area, high-resolution rapid prototyping by electron beam lithography. The major drawback of these resists is their susceptibility to T-topping effects, sensitivity losses, and linewidth variations caused by delay times between individual process steps. Hence, they require a very tight process control, which hinders their potentially wide application in R&D. We demonstrate a highly robust electron beam lithography lift-off process using a chemically amplified positive tone 40XT photoresist in combination with an acidic conducting polymer (PEDOT:PSS) as a protective top-coating. Even extended delay times of 24 h did not lead to any sensitivity losses or linewidth variations. Moreover, an overall high performance with a resolution of 80 nm (after lift-off) and a high sensitivity (<10 µC/cm2) comparable to other standard chemically amplified resists was achieved. The development characteristics of this resist-layer system revealed new insights into the immanent trade-off between resolution and process stability.

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LER Limitations of Resist Thin Films

Cited by 5 publications

References 23 publications

Progress and process improvements for multiple electron-beam direct write

Progress and process improvements for multiple electron-beam direct write

Multi-trigger resist for electron beam lithography

Highly robust electron beam lithography lift-off process using chemically amplified positive tone resist and PEDOT:PSS as a protective coating

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