Optics contamination studies in support of high-throughput EUV lithography tools

Hill, Shannon B.; Faradzhev, N. S.; Richter, Lee J.; Grantham, Steven E.; Tarrio, Charles S.; Lucatorto, Thomas B.; Yulin, Sergiy; Schürmann, M.; Nesterenko, V. G.; Feigl, Torsten

doi:10.1117/12.879852

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Our earlier studies indicate that the films produced by EUV decomposition of hydrocarbons evolve in the course of irradiation: prolonged EUV illumination leads to compaction of the film. 6 High photon doses will apparently convert such a film to a graphitic layer as found in a recent study of the graphitization of a thick amorphous carbon layer upon irradiation by EUV light from a free-electron laser. 7 The phenomena of compaction and graphitization will affect the chemical activity of the grown carbonaceous layer and thus the efficiency of the cleaning technique of choice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

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EUV-Driven Carbonaceous Film Deposition and Its Photo-oxidation on a TiO₂ Film Surface

et al. 2013

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We report the photodeposition of a carbonaceous layer grown on a TiO 2 thin film by extreme ultraviolet (EUV)induced chemistry of adsorbed n-tetradecane and the subsequent photo-oxidation of this film. Chemical analysis of the carbonaceous layer indicates that irradiation by 92 eV photons converts a fraction of the 14-carbon-atom alkane into two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules, anthracene and phenanthrene, both also containing 14 carbon atoms. Under continuing irradiation, EUV-induced dehydrogenation and cross-linking of PAHs and precursor alkane fragments form a complex network of carbon bonds with the inferred structure of an sp 2 -carbon rich film. Exposure of the carbonaceous film to five oxygencontaining molecules has little or no effect in the dark at 300 K. However, in the presence of EUV photons, the ability of the molecules to etch the carbonaceous film increases significantly. Their relative photo-oxidation activity follows the trend HThe rate of the photo-oxidation reaction increases with the partial pressure of the oxidizer. Raising the substrate temperature has little effect on the photo-oxidation reaction rate, which is in contrast to the rate of EUV-induced carbonaceous film growth that exhibits a strong temperature dependence. The difference between mechanisms of EUV-induced hydrocarbon decomposition and photo-oxidation of the carbonaceous film is discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Exposures to 92 eV photons during carbonaceous film growth and photo-oxidation experiments are done at the NIST synchrotron ultraviolet facility (SURF III) in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber with a base pressure of ∼7 × 10 −9 Pa. 6 The peak intensity at the center of the EUV spot corresponds to ∼2 × 10 16 92 eV photons cm −2 s −1 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

EUV-Driven Carbonaceous Film Deposition and Its Photo-oxidation on a TiO₂ Film Surface

et al. 2013

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“…Hence, a practical and rapid qualification system which will allow the direct quantification of optics contamination caused by resist outgassing is necessary. Witness sample (WS) testing has been proposed as the strongest candidate in achieving this [2][3][4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Resist Outgassing Characterization between High Power EUV and EB

Sugie¹,

Takahashi²,

Katayama³

et al. 2012

J. Photopol. Sci. Technol.

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For high volume manufacturing (HVM) using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, a practical resist outgassing qualification system is required. Witness sample (WS) testing systems using electron beam (EB) or low power EUV have been proposed as candidate methods, however some issues remain on how these alternative light sources, in comparison to future high power EUV in exposure tools for HVM, will affect actual resist chemical reactions and ultimately resist outgassing. In this paper, we have investigated outgassing from resist induced optics contamination by utilizing two types of WS test systems of high power EUV and EB. A correlation between these light sources is discussed, especially focusing on the resulting chemical phenomena depending on resist material properties.

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“…The first approach used a witness-plate method 5,6 to establish correlations between the outgassed species and the contaminated optics to develop an understanding of how to mitigate optics contamination in EUVL high-volume manufacturing processess. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Ellipsometry was used to correlate the contamination thickness with the exposure dose and gaseous contaminants, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to analyze the chemical compositions of the cleanable and noncleanable contaminants. ASML defined the test flows of resist outgassing and set resist specifications for compliance based on the transmission loss of the witness sample as a consequence of noncleanable contamination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Outgassing and photochemical studies of photosensitive films upon irradiation at 13.5 nm

Shao

Sung

et al. 2012

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology B, Nanotechnology and Microelectronics: Materials, Processing, Measurement, and Phen

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Neutral outgassed species from polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), a model resist (denoted RRR), and three underlayer thin films have been characterized and their absolute outgassing rates determined using a quadrupole mass spectrometer following irradiation at 13.5 nm. The radiation, which was in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) energy range at 13.5 nm, was delivered from the 08A1-beamline at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center in Taiwan. The side chains of acryl-type polymers that are vulnerable to fragmentation and outgassing upon EUV irradiation were characterized and the important outgassed species (H 2 O and H 3 O þ ) were identified from the Si-containing photosensitive materials. The authors propose that the Si-OH formed on the Si-containing surfaces upon EUV irradiation likely undergoes subsequent incremental H 2 O and H 3 O þ outgassing upon cumulative EUV irradiation. A benchmark comparison revealed that the absolute outgassing rates of PMMA, RRR, and a Si-containing underlayer sample determined in this work were consistent with values previously reported in the literature. Thus, we have effectively demonstrated that the Taiwanese facility is capable of evaluating absolute resist outgassing rates, making it one of a limited number of EUV resist evaluation sites worldwide. The authors have provided direct evidence that the extent of ionic and neutral outgassing from 80, 100, and 125 nm PMMA and RRR films is not thickness-dependent. The authors have further demonstrated that the absolute outgassing rates of PMMA and RRR films of various thickness and two oxy-hydrocarbon underlayer samples correlated strongly with the 13.5 nm photoabsorption (r abs ) and the structural toughness [double-bond-equivalence-per-backbone (DBEPB)] of the polymers. The authors revealed that the formula r abs /DBEPB could be used as a generic metric to predict the resistance of photosensitive films to EUV irradiation for the oxy-hydrocarbons in this work and four previously studied photoresists.

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Optics contamination studies in support of high-throughput EUV lithography tools

Cited by 12 publications

References 14 publications

EUV-Driven Carbonaceous Film Deposition and Its Photo-oxidation on a TiO₂ Film Surface

EUV-Driven Carbonaceous Film Deposition and Its Photo-oxidation on a TiO₂ Film Surface

Comparison of Resist Outgassing Characterization between High Power EUV and EB

Outgassing and photochemical studies of photosensitive films upon irradiation at 13.5 nm

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Optics contamination studies in support of high-throughput EUV lithography tools

Cited by 12 publications

References 14 publications

EUV-Driven Carbonaceous Film Deposition and Its Photo-oxidation on a TiO2 Film Surface

EUV-Driven Carbonaceous Film Deposition and Its Photo-oxidation on a TiO2 Film Surface

Comparison of Resist Outgassing Characterization between High Power EUV and EB

Outgassing and photochemical studies of photosensitive films upon irradiation at 13.5 nm

Contact Info

Product

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EUV-Driven Carbonaceous Film Deposition and Its Photo-oxidation on a TiO₂ Film Surface

EUV-Driven Carbonaceous Film Deposition and Its Photo-oxidation on a TiO₂ Film Surface