The development of new resist materials is vital to fabrication techniques for next-generation microelectronics. Inorganic resists are promising candidates because they have higher etch resistance, are more impervious to pattern collapse, and are more absorbing of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation than organic resists. However, there is limited understanding about how they behave under irradiation. In this work, a Hf-based hybrid thin film resist, known as “hafnicone”, is deposited from the vapor-phase via molecular layer deposition (MLD), and its electron-beam and deep-ultraviolet (DUV)-induced patterning mechanism is explored. The hafnicone thin films are deposited at 100 °C by using the Hf precursor tetrakis(dimethylamido)hafnium(IV) and the organic precursor ethylene glycol. E-beam lithography, scanning electron microscopy, and profilometry are used to investigate the resist performance of hafnicone. With 3 M HCl as the developer, hafnicone behaves as a negative tone resist which exhibits a sensitivity of 400 μC/cm2 and the ability to resolve 50 nm line widths. The resist is characterized via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and infrared spectroscopy (IR) to investigate the patterning mechanism, which is described in the context of classical nucleation theory. This study of hafnicone hybrid MLD demonstrates the ability for the bottom-up vapor deposition of inorganic resists to be utilized in advanced e-beam and DUV lithographic techniques.
As lithographic techniques advance in their capabilities of shrinking microelectronics devices, the need for improved resist materials, especially for extreme ultraviolet (EUV), has become increasingly pressing. In this work, we study the molecular layer deposition (MLD) of an Al-based hybrid thin film resist, known as “alucone,” extending our previous research that tested the Hf-based hybrid thin film “hafnicone” as an EUV resist. Alucone is grown at 100 ºC using the metal precursor trimethylaluminum and the organic precursor ethylene glycol. Like hafnicone, alucone behaves as a negative tone resist that can resolve 50-nm line widths, though preliminary data suggest that alucone’s line patterns are more sharply defined than those of hafnicone. Whereas hafnicone’s sensitivity is 400 μC/cm2 using 3 M HCl as the developer, alucone’s sensitivity is not yet as good (4800 μC/cm2 using 0.125 M HCl). Our study of alucone offers new insight into structural features of an MLD film that can lead to desired EUV-responsive behavior. This insight may accelerate the development of vapor-deposited inorganic resists for use in electron-beam and EUV lithography.
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