The line width and line edge roughness (LER) of resist patterns are related to the concentration and its gradient of chemical compounds that determine the solubility of the resist, respectively. Therefore, latent images can be obtained from the line width and LER of resist patterns. In this study, two-dimensional (exposure dose and half-pitch) matrices of resist line width and LER were analyzed on the basis of the sensitization mechanisms of chemically amplified resists used for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. In the reconstruction of latent images, the effective reaction radius for catalytic chain reaction is an important parameter. The probable range of effective reaction radius was from 0.05 to 0.2 nm. In this range, latent images were successfully reconstructed. The finding that the effective reaction radius is smaller than the typical size of a counteranion suggests that the resist performance can be improved by increasing the effective reaction radius.
The development of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography has progressed owing to worldwide effort. As the development status of EUV lithography approaches the requirements for the high-volume production of semiconductor devices with a minimum line width of 22 nm, the extraction of resist parameters becomes increasingly important from the viewpoints of the accurate evaluation of resist materials for resist screening and the accurate process simulation for process and mask designs. In this study, we demonstrated that resist parameters (namely, quencher concentration, acid diffusion constant, proportionality constant of line edge roughness, and dissolution point) can be extracted from the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of patterned resists without the knowledge on the details of resist contents using two types of latest EUV resist. #
We investigated the relationship between line edge roughness (LER) and the concentration gradient of chemical compounds that determines the solubility of the resist (chemical gradient). Two-dimensional (half-pitch and exposure dose) matrices of resist line width and LER were analyzed on the basis of the sensitization mechanisms of chemically amplified resists for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. The latent images of resist patterns were successfully reproduced by assuming that LER is inversely proportional to the chemical gradient. The product of LER and normalized chemical gradient was 0.31.
Estimation of diffusion lengths of acid and quencher in chemically amplified resist on the basis of extreme ultraviolet exposure results J.Dependence of acid generation efficiency on the protection ratio of hydroxyl groups in chemically amplified electron beam, x-ray and EUV resists
The major resist properties, namely, resolution, line edge roughness (LER), and sensitivity have trade-off relationships. The relationships among them are determined by the pattern formation efficiency. Because of these trade-off relationships, the assessment of resist performance has been a difficult task. The extraction of parameters associated with pattern formation efficiency is important for the proper assessment of resist materials. In this study, we improved the resist model and analysis procedure for the parameter extraction and assessed state-of-the-art extreme ultraviolet (EUV) resists. Using extracted parameters, we evaluated the expected resist performance upon exposure to a next-generation exposure tool with high numerical aperture (NA). Furthermore, assuming the technical limits of resist materials, the extendibility of chemically amplified resists was examined. It was found that the resist requirements (10 mJ cm À2 sensitivity and 1 nm LER) for the 16 nm node are achievable at NA ¼ 0:35, although they were comparable to the assumed technical limit. #
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