Thermal analysis of projection electron beam lithography using complementary mask exposures

Abstract

Articles you may be interested inThermal analysis of diamondlike carbon membrane masks in projection electron-beam lithographyIn projection electron beam lithography ͑EBL͒, most of the e-beam energy is deposited in the resist and substrate as heat. The temperature rise and its effect on critical dimension ͑CD͒ variation and placement error were studied at 100 kV projection EBL for exposure conditions used on a full scale production tool. A few writing strategies were considered. Analytic estimation of temperature rise was followed by numerical simulations using the temperature simulation software tool. Local temperature increases by a maximum of 10.7°C was found at 5 C/cm 2 exposure dose, which corresponds to a few nanometers CD variation and can be over 10 nm depending on the resist and beam blur. Global substrate heating leads to a few tens of nanometers placement error that may suggest a need for better wafer cooling or active placement correction.

Theoretical study on effects of electron thermal energy on sensitization process of chemically amplified electron beam resists—contribution to resist heating effect in electron beam mask writing

“…This resist pattern deformation is called a resist heating effect. 1,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] The temperature rise has been experimentally and theoretically investigated. The resist deformation caused by the temperature rise has also been experimentally and theoretically investigated.…”

Thermal analysis of diamondlike carbon membrane masks in projection electron-beam lithography

“…7 All sizes on the mask were multiplied by four compared to those on the wafer to accommodate for magnification of the stepper. Physical sizes, the writing strategy, and dwell and delay times were described in detail earlier.…”

“…1 Fabrication methods of these masks have been developed. [5][6][7][8] For DLC membrane masks, heating has not yet been evaluated. 4 A detailed knowledge of temperature rise and thermal distortion of masks is critical for meeting the tight specifications for quality of fabricated patterns.…”