Photomask technology for 32nm node and beyond

Hikichi, Ryugo; Ishii, Hiroyuki; Migita, Hidekazu; Kakehi, Noriko; Shimizu, Mochihiro; Takamizawa, Hideyoshi; Nagano, Tsugumi; Hashimoto, Masahiro; Iwashita, Hiroyuki; Suzuki, Toshiyuki; Hosoya, Morio; Ohkubo, Yasushi; Ushida, Masao; Mitsui, Hideaki

doi:10.1117/12.793014

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…In this report, opaque MoSi on glass (OMOG) that has 10-nm thick chrome showed the best CD performance compared with the conventional phase shift mask (PSM) and chrome binary mask which both use a much thicker chrome layer. A chrome absorber that has a fast etch rate was evaluated by Hashimoto et al and Hikichi et al, and they confirmed a CD performance advantage compared with conventional chrome absorber materials used on PSM and chrome binary masks [4] [5]. Furthermore, those reports indicated that a thinner chrome hard mask and/or hard mask material that has faster etching rate could be used in conjunction with a much thinner resist.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Etch characterization of binary mask dependence on mask material and resist thickness for 22nm mask fabrication

et al. 2009

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Use of optical photomasks will extend to the 22-nm node and beyond. Mask minimum resolution and critical dimension (CD) requirements for this node are very challenging to the mask industry. Optimization of resist materials and resist thickness are key factors for improving CD performance. In general, thinner resists result in better minimum resolution performance. The minimum useable resist thickness is often linked to the chrome hard mask dry etching performance. More specifically, improvement of chrome etch rate selectivity to resist while simultaneously maintaining good CD performance is difficult. In order to use a very thin e-beam resist, the underlying chrome hard mask material thickness needs to be thin or it needs to be comprised of a material that has a fast etch rate and good dry etch selectivity to resist. Use of thin and/or fast etch rate hard mask materials that are capable of reducing dry etch induced CD error such as etch bias, etch bias uniformity, etch bias linearity, and etch global loading effect is required for meeting 22-nm mask requirements. In this paper, the dry etching effect dependence on hard mask thickness, hard mask material composition and resist thickness for building advanced binary masks for 22-nm node is studied. The results from this work will show that dry etch induced CD error such as etch bias, etch bias uniformity, etch bias linearity, and etch global loading effect are significantly improved by use of an ultra thin or high etch rate hard mask material.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Etch characterization of binary mask dependence on mask material and resist thickness for 22nm mask fabrication

et al. 2009

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“…This results in a complex optimization that is tied to the desired circuit pattern (such as contact layer, gate, interconnect), the particular scanner used, the particular photomask and type (BIM, APSM, alternating PSM, etc. ), and wafer-level imaging stack (41,42). Lithography has now become computationally intensive, with iterative refinements needed to achieve accurate fidelity and yield in the fab.…”

Section: Photomask Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immersion Lithography: Photomask and Wafer-Level Materials

French

Tran

2009

Annu. Rev. Mater. Res.

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Optical immersion lithography utilizes liquids with refractive indices >1 (the index of air) below the last lens element to enhance numerical aperture and resolution, enabling sub-40-nm feature patterning. This shift from conventional dry optical lithography introduces numerous challenges requiring innovations in materials at all imaging stack levels. In this article, we highlight the recent materials advances in photomasks, immersion fluids, topcoats, and photoresists. Some of the challenges encountered include the fluids' and photomask materials' UV durability, the high-index liquids' compatibility with topcoats and photoresists, and overall immersion imaging and defectivity performance. In addition, we include a section on novel materials and methods for double-patterning lithography-a technique that may further extend immersion technology by effectively doubling a less dense pattern's line density. 93 Annu. Rev. Mater. Res. 2009.39:93-126. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org by Otterbein University on 09/17/13. For personal use only.

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