This study presents an experimental method to determine the resist parameters that are at the origin of a general blurring of the projected aerial image. The resist model includes the effects of diffusion in the horizontal plane and a second cause for image blur that originates from a stochastic variation of the focus parameter. The used mathematical framework is the so-called Extended Nijboer-Zernike (ENZ) theory. The experimental procedure to extract the model parameters is demonstrated for several 193 nm resists under various conditions of post exposure baking temperature and baking time. The advantage of our approach is a clear separation between the optical parameters, such as feature size, projection lens aberrations and the illuminator setting on the one hand and process parameters introducing blur on the other.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.