We report the preparation of discrete nanometer-scale zinc-based clusters and use them to form sub-15 nm structures by means of extreme ultraviolet lithography. By taking advantage of a metal-containing building unit derived by a metal–organic frameworkMOF-2, we found the 3-methyl-phenyl-modified Zn-mTA cluster that formed is well-defined with controlled size and structure and demonstrates extremely high solubility. Progress in recent years in metal–organic frameworks has created a rich variety of metal-containing structures that are useful for numerous applications. Substitution of the bridging ligands with monovalent ligands produces a discrete metal–organic cluster that strongly interacts with soft X-rays at a wavelength of 13 nm. Here we describe the design, preparation, computational modeling, and physical characterization of these new materials. Such metal-containing structures may form the basis of photoresists that enable the next generation of microelectronic devices.

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Methacrylate based nanoparticle materials have been investigated for their negative-tone patterning with DUV (248nm, 254nm), e-beam and EUV lithography, and show promising EUV sensitivity and resolution. In order to further extend the application of this novel class of materials and understand more about the underlying mechanism, we continue to study its dual-tone behavior and the tone-switching process. Catalyzed by a photoradical generator, we have been able to print positive tone line-space patterns with both DUV and e-beam exposure enabled patterning of features with a wide range of line-widths. By monitoring the patterning process, the PEB conditions have been found to be a crucial factor, which determines the solubility and core-ligand interactions.

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EUV lithography is a promising candidate for the manufacturing of semiconductor devices for the 7 nm node and beyond. The success of any lithography depends on the availability of a suitable resist with high resolution, sensitivity and low LWR. Though polymer type CAR (chemically amplified resist) is the current standard photoresist, entirely new resist platforms are required due to the performance targets of smaller process nodes. To meet this target, metal oxide photoresists have been designed and lithographic properties have been studied. In this paper, scum elimination studies with dissolution rate acceleration concepts and new metal core applications are described.