Extension of 248-nm optical lithography: a thin film imaging approach

Qinghuang Lin; Ahmad D. Katnani; Timothy A. Brunner; Charlotte DeWan; Cindy Fairchok; Douglas C. LaTulipe; John P. Simons; Karen E. Petrillo; Katherina Babich; David E. Seeger; Marie Angelopoulos; Ratnam Sooriyakumaran; Gregory M. Wallraff; Donald C. Hofer

doi:10.1117/12.312417

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29 June 1998 Extension of 248-nm optical lithography: a thin film imaging approach

Qinghuang Lin, Ahmad D. Katnani, Timothy A. Brunner, Charlotte DeWan, Cindy Fairchok, Douglas C. LaTulipe, John P. Simons, Karen E. Petrillo, Katherina Babich, David E. Seeger, Marie Angelopoulos, Ratnam Sooriyakumaran, Gregory M. Wallraff, Donald C. Hofer

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Proceedings Volume 3333, Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XV; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.312417
Event: 23rd Annual International Symposium on Microlithography, 1998, Santa Clara, CA, United States

Abstract

A negative-tone bilayer thin film imaged (TFI) resist has been developed for extension of 248 nm optical lithography to sub-150 nm regime. The bilayer TFI resist system consists of a thin (0.2 um) silicon containing top imaging layer and a thick (0.7 - 0.8 um) highly absorbing organic underlayer. The chemically amplified negative-tone top layer resist comprises of three major components: an aqueous base soluble silicon containing polymer, poly(hydroxybenzylsilsesquioxane); a crosslinking agent; and a photoacid generator. The highly absorptive underlayer is a hard baked novolak resist or a DUV ARC. Imaging of the top layer resist has shown resolutions down to 137.5 nm for line/space features and 130 nm for isolated features with 248 nm exposure tools and chrome on glass masks. The O₂ reactive ion etch (RIE) selectively of the top layers versus a novolak underlayer is more than 25:1 as a result of the high silicon content in the silicon containing polymer. Furthermore, residue-free and nearly vertical wall profile image transfer to the underlayer has been achieved with RIE. Application of the negative-tone bilayer resist to 150 nm Gbit DRAM critical level lithography has been demonstrated. Resist line edge roughness is also discussed.

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Qinghuang Lin, Ahmad D. Katnani, Timothy A. Brunner, Charlotte DeWan, Cindy Fairchok, Douglas C. LaTulipe, John P. Simons, Karen E. Petrillo, Katherina Babich, David E. Seeger, Marie Angelopoulos, Ratnam Sooriyakumaran, Gregory M. Wallraff, and Donald C. Hofer "Extension of 248-nm optical lithography: a thin film imaging approach", Proc. SPIE 3333, Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XV, (29 June 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.312417

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