Multiscale Simulation of the Development Process in Electron Beam Lithography

Abstract

Multiscale simulations are performed to study the development process in electron beam lithography. The whole pattern profiles are calculated with the cell removal simulation. The pattern profiles are shown to reflect the electron scattering manner in the resist. The local pattern structures are then studied by molecular dynamics simulation. The residual layer with a lot of voids, the residual polymer chains and concave sidewall reflecting the molecular structures are observed as typical atomic-scale pattern structures. The size of the pattern roughness is observed to be comparable with the molecular size of the resist. The diffusion process of the resist molecules among the developer molecules is also analyzed.

Multiscale Simulation Approach on Sub-10 nm Extreme Ultraviolet Photoresist Patterning: Insights from Nanoscale Heterogeneity of Polymer

“…For more sophisticated theoretical model of lithography process, several factors such as electron scattering, interaction with developer solvent, microstructure-dependent acid diffusion, and incorporation of base quencher should be reflected in the future. First, application of the electron scattering dynamics onto current photoinduced chemical reaction model would enable more realistic prediction of the acid activation ratio, and a number of molecular-to-mesoscale simulation studies ,,− provide in-depth theoretical background for electron transfer/scattering physics.…”