As feature sizes continue to shrink, the need for new materials and processes becomes more urgent. In order to achieve high-resolution patterns and low line edge roughness (LER), there have been many studies on small molecular resists. In terms of processes, there have been growing interests in negative-tone development because of its better performance in printing narrow trenches and contact holes. As new patterning materials, we have synthesized inorganic nanoparticle resists that consist of a metal oxide (HfO₂ or ZrO₂) core surrounded by organic ligands. The inorganic core provides high etch-resistance while the organic ligands give the resists photochemical functionality. Because of their high etch-resistance, thin films of these nanoparticle photoresists are sufficient to provide good pattern transfer to the substrate and eliminate problems such as pattern collapse. Negative-tone patterning of these nanoparticle photoresists can be achieved by using an organic solvent. The small sizes (1-3nm) of these nanoparticle resists can also enable high-resolution patterning and have the potential to reduce LER. We have successfully shown negative-tone patterning of these nanoparticle resists with features as small as 30 nm using both e-beam and EUV lithography and this paper seeks to study the NTD results with different negative-tone developers.

Date Published: 29 March 2013
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 8682, Advances in Resist Materials and Processing Technology XXX, 86820R (29 March 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2011282

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8682:
Advances in Resist Materials and Processing Technology XXX
Mark H. Somervell, Editor(s)