Sub-10 nm electron beam lithography using cold development of poly(methylmethacrylate)

Hu, Wenchuang; Sarveswaran, Koshala; Lieberman, Marya; Bernstein, Gary H.

doi:10.1116/1.1763897

Cited by 219 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Hu et al [28] showed that when cold development and high electron doses are used, a higher resolution compared to the development at room temperature is obtained. This is due to the molecular weight of the PMMA which decreases when the electron dose increases, such that during cold development only the central part of the exposed region is removed by the developer, enhancing the resolution.…”

Section: Organic Resistsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resists for sub-20-nm electron beam lithography with a focus on HSQ: state of the art

2009

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In the past decade, the feature size in ultra large-scale integration (ULSI) has been continuously decreasing, leading to nanostructure fabrication. Nowadays, various lithographic techniques ranging from conventional methods (e.g. photolithography, x-rays) to unconventional ones (e.g. nanoimprint lithography, self-assembled monolayers) are used to create small features. Among all these, resist-based electron beam lithography (EBL) seems to be the most suitable technique when nanostructures are desired. The achievement of sub-20-nm structures using EBL is a very sensitive process determined by various factors, starting with the choice of resist material and ending with the development process. After a short introduction to nanolithography, a framework for the nanofabrication process is presented. To obtain finer patterns, improvements of the material properties of the resist are very important. The present review gives an overview of the best resolution obtained with several types of both organic and inorganic resists. For each resist, the advantages and disadvantages are presented. Although very small features (2-5 nm) have been obtained with PMMA and inorganic metal halides, for the former resist the low etch resistance and instability of the pattern, and for the latter the delicate handling of the samples and the difficulties encountered in the spinning session, prevent the wider use of these e-beam resists in nanostructure fabrication. A relatively new e-beam resist, hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ), is very suitable when aiming for sub-20-nm resolution. The changes that this resist undergoes before, during and after electron beam exposure are discussed and the influence of various parameters (e.g. pre-baking, exposure dose, writing strategy, development process) on the resolution is presented. In general, high resolution can be obtained using ultrathin resist layers and when the exposure is performed at high acceleration voltages. Usually, one of the properties of the resist material is improved to the detriment of another. It has been demonstrated that aging, baking at low temperature, immediate exposure after spin coating, the use of a weak developer and development at a low temperature increase the sensitivity but decrease the contrast. The surface roughness is more pronounced at low exposure doses (high sensitivity) and high baking temperatures. A delay between exposure and development seems to increase both contrast and the sensitivity of samples which are stored in a vacuum after exposure, compared to those stored in air. Due to its relative novelty, the capabilities of HSQ have not been completely explored, hence there is still room for improvement.Applications of this electron beam resist in lithographic techniques other than EBL are also discussed. Finally, conclusions and an outlook are presented.

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Section: Organic Resistsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resists for sub-20-nm electron beam lithography with a focus on HSQ: state of the art

2009

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“…The cold development process has been shown to increase the resolution of nanosized features by increasing the selectivity of a developer in removing exposed photoresist 41 . The increased selectivity of the developer allows for longer EBL exposures (which increases writing accuracy) and decreased parasitic overexposure effects.…”

Section: Antenna Arraysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Probing and Controlling Photothermal Heat Generation in Plasmonic Nanostructures

et al. 2013

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In the emerging field of thermoplasmonics, Joule heating associated with optically resonant plasmonic structures is exploited to generate nanoscale thermal hotspots.In the present study, new methods for designing and thermally probing thermoplasmonic structures are reported. A general design rationale, based on Babinet's principle, is developed for understanding how the complementary version of ideal electromagnetic antennae can yield efficient nanoscale heat sources with maximized current density. Using this methodology, we show that the diabolo antenna is more suitable for heat generation compared with its more well-known complementary structure, the bow-tie antenna. We also demonstrate that highly localized and enhanced thermal hot spots can be realized by incorporating the diabolo antenna into a plasmonic lens. Using a newly developed thermal microscopy method based on the temperature-dependent photoluminescence lifetime of thin-film thermographic phosphors, we experimentally characterize the thermal response of various antenna and superstructure designs. Data from FDTD simulations and the experimental temperature measurements confirm the validity of the design rationale. The thermal microscopy technique, with its robust sensing method, could overcome some of the drawbacks of current micro/nanoscale temperature measurement schemes.

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“…100 nm). Electron Beam Lithography (EBL) results to be one of the most used technique for obtaining nanostructures down to sub 10nm, using different strategies such e-resist development processed with cold developers (4−10 • C) or through a double layer resist system consisted in a 15 nm thick Chromium mask [1,2,3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dose influence on the PMMA e-resist for the development of high-aspect ratio and reproducible sub-micrometric structures by electron beam lithography

Veroli

Mura

Balucani

et al. 2016

AIP Conference Proceedings

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In this work, a statistical process control method is presented showing the accuracy and the reliability obtained with of PMMA E-resist AR-P 672, using an Elphy Quantum Electron Beam Lithography module integrated on a FE-SEM Zeiss Auriga instrument. Reproducible nanostructures with an high aspect ratio between e-resist thickness and width of written geometric structure are shown. Detailed investigation of geometry features are investigated with dimension in the range of 200nm to 1-m. The adopted method will show how tuning the Area Dose factor and the PMMA thickness it was possible to determine the correct and reproducible parameters that allows to obtain well defined electron-beam features with a 4:1 aspect ratio. Such high aspect ratio opens the possibility to realize an electron-beam lithography lift-off process by using a standard e-beam resist. © 2016 Author(s)

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Sub-10 nm electron beam lithography using cold development of poly(methylmethacrylate)

Cited by 219 publications

References 41 publications

Resists for sub-20-nm electron beam lithography with a focus on HSQ: state of the art

Resists for sub-20-nm electron beam lithography with a focus on HSQ: state of the art

Probing and Controlling Photothermal Heat Generation in Plasmonic Nanostructures

Dose influence on the PMMA e-resist for the development of high-aspect ratio and reproducible sub-micrometric structures by electron beam lithography

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