Negative Tone Metallic Organic Resists with Improved Sensitivity for Plasma Etching: Implications for Silicon Nanostructure Fabrication and Photomask Production

Chaker, A.; Alty, Hayden A.; Winpenny, Paul; Whitehead, George F. S.; Timco, Grigore A.; Lewis, Scott M.; Winpenny, Richard E. P.

doi:10.1021/acsanm.2c02986

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…This resulted in defects or rough edges in the obtained patterns (Figure d). Upon single-line exposure, ,, Films A and B exhibited limiting resolution. Line patterns with a critical dimension (CD) of 13 nm were achieved for both films at 60 and 5 nC/cm respectively, with Film A showing more uniform line edges (Figures g and S51).…”

Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Additive-Assisted Forming High-Quality Thin Films of Sn–Oxo Cluster for Nanopatterning

Zhao,

Huang,

et al. 2024

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Recently, metal−oxo clusters (MOCs) have attracted significant interest in fabricating nanoscale patterns in semiconductors via lithography. However, many MOCs are highly crystalline, making it difficult for them to form films and hindering subsequent nanopatterning processes. In this study, we developed a novel and simple method to enhance the filmforming ability of aromatic tetranuclear Sn−oxo clusters by adding additives. Theoretical calculations and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis revealed the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the Sn−oxo clusters and additives, which induced a crystal−gel phase transition at −20 °C, thereby inhibiting the easy crystallization of the Sn− oxo clusters. High-quality and uniform thin films with surface roughness below 0.3 nm were prepared via spin coating. The obtained thin films exhibited good lithographic performance under deep ultraviolet (DUV), electron beam, and extreme-ultraviolet irradiation without a photo acid generator/photoinitiator, and 13-and 21 nm-wide line patterns were obtained on the films via electron-beam and extreme-ultraviolet lithographies. This study will pave the way for the further investigation of novel MOCs for advanced lithography and other thin-film applications.

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Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Additive-Assisted Forming High-Quality Thin Films of Sn–Oxo Cluster for Nanopatterning

Zhao,

Huang,

et al. 2024

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…Nonetheless, the patterned HRR resist has been shown to exhibit an unparalleled etch selectivity toward organic (e.g., organic planarizing layers and amorphous carbon) and inorganic (Si, W) underlayers, due to the formation of a chromium oxide hardmask that is particularly resistant to reactive ion etch (RIE) plasma 29 . At the printed feature size of 25 nm L/S, the {Cr7Ni} resist has a demonstrated etch selectivity of 99:1 to silicon, 30 and even larger selectivities could be achieved at larger pitches, 28 which compares favorably to the etch selectivities of common resists to silicon at 100-nm pitch, such as PMMA (2.0:1), ZEP520A (2.9:1), and HSQ (4.2:1) 31 . Together with previously demonstrated spatial resolution down to sub 10-nm lines, 28 , 29 the HRR platform can simplify complex multilayer stacks that utilize a highly etch resistant metal hardmask layer under a high resolution resist by combining both layers into one.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dry heterometallic resist processing based on thermal sublimation deposition and development

Goldfarb

Lewis

Grindell³

et al. 2022

J. Micro/Nanopattern. Mats. Metro.

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A negative tone heterometallic ring resist (HRR) based on a supramolecular assembly ½NH 2 ðallylÞ 2 ½Cr 7 NiF 8 ðpivÞ 16 with previously demonstrated resolution down to sub 10-nm lines is evaluated in terms of its flexibility to be processed either "wet" (spin cast and solvent developed) or "dry" (deposition and development by vacuum sublimation). The implemented sublimation hardware fits easily in the wafer load-lock chamber of extreme ultraviolet and electron beam exposure systems dedicated to research and development activities and allows for HRR films to be uniformly deposited or developed in the same vacuum environment. The HRR shows a sublimation rate dependence on temperature that obeys a Clausius-Clapeyron relation, with thermal stability up to 275°C. Flood exposures of the HRR show identical sensitivity between wet-and dry-deposited films, whereas contrast degradation is observed when dry development is initiated by increasing the temperature prior to system pump down. A modified sublimation setup allows for the dry development of exposed HRR samples inside the electron beam tool without breaking vacuum. In this case, nominally patterned 25 nm L/S are identically resolved at 30 keV for wet-or dry-developed HRR.

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“…Another benefit of using metal-containing resist materials, specifically as etch masks, is their increased etch resistance when compared to conventional polymer resists. In a recent study, a Cr-containing metal-organic resist demonstrated an Si etch selectivity of nearly 100:1 [31] , while ZEP520A, a typical organic photoresist, had an etch selectivity of approximately 1:1 for similar etch conditions [32] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Zinc-Imidazolate Films as an All-Dry Resist Technology

Corkery,

Waltz,

Eckhert

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Motivated by the drawbacks of solution phase processing, an all-dry resist formation process is presented that utilizes amorphous zinc-imidazolate (aZnMIm) films deposited by atomic/molecular layer deposition (ALD/MLD), patterned with electron beam lithography (EBL), and developed by novel low temperature (120 °C) gas phase etching using 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoroacetylacetone (hfacH) to achieve well-resolved 22 nm lines with a pitch of 30 nm. The effects of electron beam irradiation on the chemical structure and hfacH etch resistance of aZnMIm films are investigated, and it is found that electron irradiation degrades the 2-methylimidazolate ligands and transforms aZnMIm into a more dense material that is resistant to etching by hfacH and has a C:N:Zn ratio effectively identical to that of unmodified aZnMIm. These findings showcase the potential for aZnMIm films to function in a dry resist technology. Sensitivity, contrast, and critical dimensions of the patterns are determined to be 37 mC cm-2, 0.87, and 29 nm, respectively, for aZnMIm deposited on silicon substrates and patterned at 30 keV. This work introduces a new direction for solvent-free resist processing, offering the prospect of scalable, high-resolution patterning techniques for advanced semiconductor fabrication processes.

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Negative Tone Metallic Organic Resists with Improved Sensitivity for Plasma Etching: Implications for Silicon Nanostructure Fabrication and Photomask Production

Cited by 4 publications

References 31 publications

Additive-Assisted Forming High-Quality Thin Films of Sn–Oxo Cluster for Nanopatterning

Additive-Assisted Forming High-Quality Thin Films of Sn–Oxo Cluster for Nanopatterning

Dry heterometallic resist processing based on thermal sublimation deposition and development

Zinc-Imidazolate Films as an All-Dry Resist Technology

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