Collapse behavior of single layer 193- and 157-nm resists: use of surfactants in the rinse to realize the sub-130-nm nodes

Stefan Hien; Georgia K. Rich; Gilbert Molina; Heidi B. Cao; Paul F. Nealey

doi:10.1117/12.474205

24 July 2002 Collapse behavior of single layer 193- and 157-nm resists: use of surfactants in the rinse to realize the sub-130-nm nodes

Stefan Hien, Georgia K. Rich, Gilbert Molina, Heidi B. Cao, Paul F. Nealey

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4690, Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XIX; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.474205
Event: SPIE's 27th Annual International Symposium on Microlithography, 2002, Santa Clara, California, United States

Abstract

In this study we determined the dimension dependent onset of pattern collapse for different 193 and 157nm resist platforms, and explored production relevant techniques to suppress pattern collapse. Test structures were designed and implemented to generate well-defined capillary forces on beams of resist during drying. X-ray and 193nm (using alternating phase shifting masks) lithography were used to print test structures and patterns of dense lines with critical dimensions as small as 100 nm. The collapse behavior was quantified in terms of the critical aspect ratio for collapse as a function of the spacing between structures. The resist platforms exhibited different collapse behavior at line widths of greater than 150 nm, but at line widths of 100 nm and less, all of the resist structures collapsed with aspect ratios greater than 3. A principal conclusion from this work is that changes in resist chemistry or formulation alone will not be sufficient to solve the collapse problem at the 100 nm node and below. The most effective strategy to suppress the resist collapse is to reduce the capillary forces that act on the structures during drying. For 193 nm resists, collapse behavior was quantified for a number of surfactants that were added to the rinse liquid. We demonstrate that with a simple modification of the final rinse and drying process, we could increase the critical aspect ratio from 4.2 to 5.2 at a spacing of 110 nm for a champion resist. This means, for example, that we can image 110 nm dense lines with the surfactant rinse at a thickness of 575 nm whereas without surfactant we were limited to 460 nm. The results are interpreted in terms of the contact angles of rinse liquids on the resists and their respective surface tensions.

Citation Download Citation

Stefan Hien, Georgia K. Rich, Gilbert Molina, Heidi B. Cao, and Paul F. Nealey "Collapse behavior of single layer 193- and 157-nm resists: use of surfactants in the rinse to realize the sub-130-nm nodes", Proc. SPIE 4690, Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XIX, (24 July 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.474205

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available