Novel EUV Resist Materials for 7 nm Node and Beyond

Furutani, Hajime; Shirakawa, Michihiro; Nihashi, Wataru; Sakita, Kyohei; Oka, Hironori; Fujita, Mitsuhiro; Omatsu, Tadashi; Tsuchihashi, Toru; Fujmaki, Nishiki; Fujimori, Takahito

doi:10.2494/photopolymer.31.201

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The chemistry of CAR has been altered such that the mechanism for light-mediated solubility modulation became valid with different light sources including DUV and EUV. The CAR system has been optimized for lithographic techniques using KrF and ArF excimer lasers; however, in EUV lithography, one challenging issue still remains to be addressed: trade-off relationship among resolution, line edge roughness (LER), and sensitivity, the-so-called RLS trade-off. − Different chemistries have been proposed to resolve this issue; however, because of the strong compatibility of CARs with the current semiconductor device fabrication process, CAR still remains an important candidate for single-digit nanometer technical nodes with EUV lithography. − …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Structure–Physicochemical Property Relationships of Copolymers Utilizable for Negative-Tone Photoimaging via Chemical Amplification

Ko,

Lee,

Kim

et al. 2024

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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We demonstrate an understanding of different physicochemical properties of copolymers induced by systematic changes in their structural parameters, i.e., the chemical structure of the comonomer unit, composition, molecular weight, and dispersity. The terpolymers were designed to be implemented in a chemically amplified resist (CAR) to form negative-tone patterns. With two basic repeating units of 4-hydroxystyrene and 2-ethyl-2methacryloxyadamantane as monomers for conventional CARs, the pendant group of the third methacrylate comonomer was varied from aromatic, aliphatic lactone to lactone rings to modulate the interaction capability of the copolymer chains with n-butyl acetate, which is a negative-tone developer. Along with these structures, the monomer composition, molecular weight, and dispersity were also controlled. Physicochemical properties of the synthesized copolymers having controlled structures, i.e., dissolution behaviors and quantified Hansen solubility parameters, surface wetting characteristics, and surface roughness, which can be important properties affecting patterning capability in high-resolution lithography, were explored. Furthermore, the feasibility to use experimentally determined Hansen solubility parameters of the copolymers for the prediction of pattern formation using a coarse-grained model was assessed. Our comprehensive studies on the correlation of the structural parameters of the copolymers with final properties offer fundamental avenues to attain effective designs of the complex CAR system toward the lithographic process to achieve a sub-10 nm dimension, which is close to a single-chain dimension.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Structure–Physicochemical Property Relationships of Copolymers Utilizable for Negative-Tone Photoimaging via Chemical Amplification

Ko,

Lee,

Kim

et al. 2024

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…3,4 From a materials perspective, high-resolution EUV photoresists are expected to exhibit high sensitivity, low line width roughness (LWR), and high resolution. 5,6 Chemical amplified resists (CARs), while derived from deep ultraviolet (DUV) chemistry, have evolved to emphasize radioactive over photoactive reactions. A notable mechanism involves the polymer matrix's interaction with EUV light, which leads to the release of low-energy (ΔE = 2-3 eV) secondary electrons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding and improving performance of 14-nm HP EUV lithography via rational design of materials

Li,

Sweat,

et al. 2024

Advances in Patterning Materials and Processes XLI

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Spin-on glass (SOG) underlayers to enhance extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography for patterning below 28nm pitch require an in-depth understanding of the required adhesion forces necessary for good lithography.Here, we proposed a fundamentally new SOG underlayer platform composed of polymer blends that can achieve superior uniformity to improve line fidelity and provide a design path for underlayer materials. The structure and property of elemental composition and surface energy can be controlled easily and precisely by varying the combination of polymer, and consequently understanding and tuning the lithographic performance. The lithographic performance of SOG blends was evaluated using NXE3400 EUV exposure system to print 13-nm and 14-nm HP line-space features and contact hole features with CD of 20 nm. The results show that the polymer blends expand the process window for EUV resist for line-space with printable CD >11 nm and biased LWR to 3.6 nm without impact on dose when compared to conventional copolymers. In the case of CH patterning, CDU and DOF improvements were observed when compared to conventional SOG copolymers. Systematic studies on polymer blends based on functional groups and formulation compositions are in progress to establish a better understanding of enhancement of EUV lithography.

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“…Another reported source of stochastic defects is the photoresist film material and the related photoresist processes utilized to fabricate patterns from such materials. 13,14,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Specifically, stochastic defects have been reported to be impacted by the distribution of photoacid generation (after exposure) and quencher in the coated photoresist film. [25][26][27] The dispersion of acid diffusion length during post-exposure baking 26,28) and photoresist dissolution dynamics during the development process have also been reported to have a significant effect.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photoresist stochastic defect generation depending on alkyl chain length and concentration of tetraalkylammonium hydroxide in alkali aqueous developer

Harumoto¹,

Santos²,

Santillan³

et al. 2023

Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.

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The effects of photoresist dissolution on randomly occurring (“stochastic”) pattern defects in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography were investigated. Specifically, the effects of the alkali concentration of two developers of different alkyl chain lengths; tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAH) on stochastic defect generation were investigated for two typical EUV photoresist. In the case of the PHS-type photoresist, results show that stochastic defect generation was almost the same regardless of developer type, given the same developer concentration. For the hybrid-type photoresist, a decrease in stochastic defects was found with the application of the longer alkyl chain length TBAH developer. Results also suggest the existence of an optimum developer concentration. Such optimum developer concentration is considered to be affected by the balance between polarity and non-polarity of the photoresist and developer components.

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Novel EUV Resist Materials for 7 nm Node and Beyond

Cited by 8 publications

References 17 publications

Chemical Structure–Physicochemical Property Relationships of Copolymers Utilizable for Negative-Tone Photoimaging via Chemical Amplification

Chemical Structure–Physicochemical Property Relationships of Copolymers Utilizable for Negative-Tone Photoimaging via Chemical Amplification

Understanding and improving performance of 14-nm HP EUV lithography via rational design of materials

Photoresist stochastic defect generation depending on alkyl chain length and concentration of tetraalkylammonium hydroxide in alkali aqueous developer

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