Mechanism studies of scanning electron microscope measurement effects on 193-nm photoresists and the development of improved line-width measurement methods

Sarrubi, T. R.; Ross, Matthew F.; Neisser, Mark; Kocab, Thomas; Beauchemin, Bernard T.; Livesay, William R.; Wong, Selmer S.; Ng, W.

doi:10.1117/12.436837

Cited by 14 publications

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“…It has been reported that 193nm resists of the kinds shown in Scheme 1 undergo a loss of carbonyl groups upon a-beam curing and moderate changes in the C-H, C-H2 and C-H3 bonds in the 3000-2800 cm l region [3][4]. In this study, the influence of three different processes, viz., standard, LT and ESC, on the level of carbonyl loss in the FTIR were observed.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…F t 3.3 Effect of a-beam curing on the etch rate and surface roughness after etch E-beam curing process has been reported to improve the etch rates of 248 and 193nm resists [1][2][3][4]. Three different processes of e--beam curing namely standard (uncontrolled wafer temperature), LT (low temperature) and ESC (medium temperature) were studied to understand the influence of the curing processes on the etch rate, surface roughness and pattern profiles.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As modification of polymer backbone often results in big differences in the lithographic performance, only minor modifications are being carried out. On the process side, a-beam curing of 193nm resists is found to offer improvement in etch as well as elimination of surface roughness issues [1][2][3][4]. In this paper we report the etch characteristics of several 193nm polymers/resists as well as the benefits of a-beam curing on the etch characteristics, CD SEM stability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Etch Properties of 193nm Resists: Issues and Approaches.

Padmanaban

Alemy

Dammel

et al. 2002

J. Photopol. Sci. Technol.

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Polymer chemistries for 193nm resists are more or less defined and their lithographic performance is quite good to implement 100nm design rules. In spite of the use of high carbon containing adamantane or norbomene moieties in the polymer design, there exists etch selectivity as well as surface roughness issues after treatment with etch plasma. It is very much necessary to modify the etch plasma used for 193 nm resists to improve the surface roughness. Etch rates of several acrylate, methacrylate and hybrid type polymers are measured and compared. While the problem still exists, acrylates in general seem to offer better surface properties than methacrylates. On the process side, a-beam curing of 193nm resists offers improvement in both etch selectivity as well as surface roughness. It was found from the IR spectra of before and after a-beam cured films that ebeam curing reduces the carbonyl groups and compacts the resist film leading to etch improvements. Effects of three different a-beam curing processes (Standard, LT and ESC) on the methacrylate & hybrid type 193nm resists were studied with respect to resin chemistry changes, resist film shrinkage, pattern profiles, etch rates, and CD SEM stability. Etch rate, selectivity and resist surface roughness after etch of both methacrylate and hybrid resists were improved using the a-beam curing process. E-beam curing drastically reduces (from ca. 15% to 2 -5 %) the CD SEM shrinkage; however, considerable shrinkage occurs during the curing process itself.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Etch Properties of 193nm Resists: Issues and Approaches.

Padmanaban

Alemy

Dammel

et al. 2002

J. Photopol. Sci. Technol.

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“…In this paper it is suggested that the electrons stimulate a similar reaction in the resist as radiation in 193nm, though later in the paper this theory is dropped due to results to the contrary. Several papers [4,5] claim that local heating of the photoresist during SEM measurements is an important catalyst to the shrinkage, in the absence of which, as in a curing tool -where the power density is much lower, shrinkage can be avoided. Several papers [4,5,6] connect the resist shrinkage with a reduction of carbonyl groups in the resist, showing a drop in carbonyl levels using FTIR as the resist shrinks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several papers [4,5] claim that local heating of the photoresist during SEM measurements is an important catalyst to the shrinkage, in the absence of which, as in a curing tool -where the power density is much lower, shrinkage can be avoided. Several papers [4,5,6] connect the resist shrinkage with a reduction of carbonyl groups in the resist, showing a drop in carbonyl levels using FTIR as the resist shrinks. Another theory connects the shrinkage to the collapse of voids, or cavities, which were formed during the coating or the baking processes of the photoresist.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examination of possible primary mechanisms for 193nm resist shrinkage

et al. 2005

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As the need to create smaller features increases, the industry is moving on to 193nm photoresist systems. It is well known that one problem with this resist is its shrinkage under secondary electron microscope (SEM) measurements. While different phenomena arising from electron-material interaction are assumed to take place (such as crosslinking and scission), the primary mechanism which brings about this shrinkage is still unclear. This paper comprises four main experiments, relating to four theories for the primary mechanism which brings about the shrinkage. In the first experiment we wanted to examine how the shrinkage is affected by subjecting the resist to 193nm exposure (after patterning). This experiment examines the theory that the electron exposure induces an effect similar to that of 193nm exposure. The second experiment deals with e-beam curing in different doses, using working parameters similar to those used in SEM measurements (e-beam curing entails a much smaller power density than SEM measurements). The third experiment addresses the theory of disassociation of carbonyl bonds in the resist, leading to crosslinking and eventual evaporation of CO 2 molecules. The last experiment tests the theory that the shrinkage is caused by the collapse of voids within the photoresist, generated during the resist coating or subsequent bakes. The results from the exposure and curing experiments lead us to believe that both an exposure-like effect and resist local heating during SEM measurements are not good candidates for the primary mechanism. From the third experiment we see that the shrinkage is related to the release of carbonyl bonds. The results from the last experiment indicate that there is no direct correlation between voids created during the baking processes and the resist shrinkage. We will discuss these results and the chemistry of the shrinkage.

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Wet Clean Applications in Porous Low‐kPatterning Processes

Vereecke

Struyf

et al. 2012

Advanced Interconnects for ULSI Technology

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Mechanism studies of scanning electron microscope measurement effects on 193-nm photoresists and the development of improved line-width measurement methods

Cited by 14 publications

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Etch Properties of 193nm Resists: Issues and Approaches.

Etch Properties of 193nm Resists: Issues and Approaches.

Examination of possible primary mechanisms for 193nm resist shrinkage

Wet Clean Applications in Porous Low‐kPatterning Processes

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