Tantalum nitride films for the absorber material of refractive-type EUVL mask

Masashi Takahashi; Taro Ogawa; Eiichi Hoshino; Hiromasa Hoko; Byoung Taek Lee; Akira Chiba; Hiromasa Yamanashi; Shinji Okazaki

doi:10.1117/12.436702

20 August 2001 Tantalum nitride films for the absorber material of refractive-type EUVL mask

Masashi Takahashi, Taro Ogawa, Eiichi Hoshino, Hiromasa Hoko, Byoung Taek Lee, Akira Chiba, Hiromasa Yamanashi, Shinji Okazaki

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4343, Emerging Lithographic Technologies V; (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.436702
Event: 26th Annual International Symposium on Microlithography, 2001, Santa Clara, CA, United States

Abstract

Tantalum nitride (Ta_xN) films were evaluated for use as the absorber material of masks for extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL). Ta_xN films deposited by DC sputtering using an Ar+N₂ gas mixture had a low stress of less than 300 MPa, an amorphous-like structure, and a low deep ultraviolet (DUV) reflectivity. This film provides a DUV contrast of 30% with respect to the Mo/Si multilayer whose top is on Si layer. A Ta_xN film deposited using a Xe+N₂ gas mixture was found to be better in the following ways: the stress was below 100 MPa, the change in stress was below 30 MPa, and the density was more than 1 g/cm³ higher. Furthermore, treating the surface of Ta_xN film with O₂ plasma or sputtering a Ta_xO film on it using an Ar+O₂ gas mixture improved the DUV contrast because the resulting surface has a lower DUV reflectivity than Ta_xN film. These results indicate that Ta_xN film is one of the most suitable materials for the absorber of EUVL masks.

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Masashi Takahashi, Taro Ogawa, Eiichi Hoshino, Hiromasa Hoko, Byoung Taek Lee, Akira Chiba, Hiromasa Yamanashi, and Shinji Okazaki "Tantalum nitride films for the absorber material of refractive-type EUVL mask", Proc. SPIE 4343, Emerging Lithographic Technologies V, (20 August 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.436702

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