In order to shrink minimum feature sizes, many next-generation resists are being developed. One novel resist, based on a hyperbranched, dendritic polymer chemistry, is examined and compared to UVII-HS and APEX-E standard resists in order to determine its effectiveness and manufacturability. Data to date shows that many parameters of the dendritic hyperbranched resist are quite comparable to these standard resists: it is sensitive to 35 kV e-beam at 6uC/cm², i-line (365 nm) at 600uC/cm² and 248 nm light. The resist is nearly as resistant to etching as current resist technologies. It can also act as either a positive or negative tone resist. Preliminary line edge roughness data show that the dendrimer resist appears to be at least comparable if not superior to standard resists in this regard as well. The expected benefits envisioned in the development of dendritic resist materials (by Frechet group, ref 1) appear to be attainable in practice. Namely that higher polymer density and improved geometry allow smaller end-to-end chain lengths.

Date Published: 23 June 2000
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 3999, Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XVII, (23 June 2000); doi: 10.1117/12.388285

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3999:
Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XVII
Francis M. Houlihan, Editor(s)