XP SU-8 3000 (hereinafter referred to as "SU-8") thick-film resist is a chemically amplified negative resist based on epoxy resin. Here, we report on the profile simulation for this resist. Profile simulation is an important technique for planning experiments. Thus, there have been many reports on simulation techniques. In particular, many studies have been conducted on chemically amplified positive resists, as they are major resist materials used in the IC industry. However, there have been few simulation studies concerning chemically amplified negative resists.Under these circumstances, we have considered performing simulations on chemically amplified negative resist. The results of the simulation and the SEM observations are in good agreement. This study demonstrates that simulation is possible for a chemically amplified negative resist (SU-8).
This report describes the results of a study on resist profile simulation in proximity printing, using light intensity distribution and actually measured dissolution rate values, a method that takes the gap effect into consideration (the effect of the distance between mask and wafer on the aerial image and resist profiles) . We calculate the light intensity distribution with the gap effect based on the Van Cittert-Zernike theory and on the Hopkins equation as a model of light intensity distribution of proximity printing in resist film. Dissolution rate values are obtained using an apparatus to measure resist film thickness during development. The resist profile simulation is carried out using the combined data thus obtained. To verify the validity of this simulation, we use an SEM to observe resist profiles obtained from a diazonaphthoquinone (DNQ)-novolak resin positive-type resist for thick films, varying the proximity gaps using the mask aligner, which uses light in the broadband wavelengths of 350 mm to 450 mm, and compare the results with the simulation. The results of simulation and those of the SEM observation are in agreement, proving the validity of our method.
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.