The present paper describes the first chemically amplified negative-tone resist for deep x-ray lithography (DXRL). The choice of the resist material for this new resist has been oriented on the experience of the photo, electron beam and x- ray lithography (XRL) for microelectronic applications. In this work a negative tone resist containing a novolak, a crosslinker and an acid generator was developed by varying the different components. It was found that only few components, which proved to be good in thin films, were suitable for DXRL. The new resist fulfills all technological requirements and shows an increased sensitivity by a factor 15 as compared to the standard resist material, poly(methyl methacrylate). This tremendous increase in sensitivity leads to a huge cost reduction of the DXRL process. Furthermore, an excellent adhesion of this new resist to metallic substrates has been achieved which allows us to fabricate free standing columns with an aspect ratio of 80.

Date Published: 7 July 1997
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 3049, Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XIV, (7 July 1997); doi: 10.1117/12.275866

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3049:
Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XIV
Regine G. Tarascon-Auriol, Editor(s)