Immersion lithography is being actively developed toward mass production for 55nm node devices and beyond.
Advances are being made toward large depths of focus and higher resolution, but the underlying problem of machine
and material cost increases remains. Our work over the past few years has shown that the main-chain fluorinated base
resins realized by the co-polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and norbornene derivatives offer high dissolution
rates and moderate surface properties. However, it is difficult to synthesis these materials and their high cost is
disadvantageous. Recently, we switched our attention to &agr;-fluoroacrylate and have synthesized various monomers and
polymers for immersion lithography. &agr;-fluoroacrylate has a polymerization rate faster than acrylate and methacrylate,
and its polymers are superior to theirs. In this paper, we will report these synthesis methods and immersion specific
properties such as the dissolution rate in standard alkaline solution and water contact angle. Furthermore, we
consider with relationship between dissolution rate and polymer structure by infrared method.
Implant lithography, which has up to now utilized 365-nm (i-line) and 248-nm (KrF) light sources, must now turn to
193-nm (ArF) sources. In implant lithography, an anti-reflective material is often used to coat the resist-film. The top
anti-reflective coating (abbreviated to TARC) is most often used to reduce CD swing. TARC materials must have low
refractive index and water solubility. The TARC materials for used 193-nm use must have very low reflective index
and alternatives to perfluorooctylsulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) must be found. We
synthesized some novel fluorinated amorphous polymers as 193-nm TARC candidates. Their fundamental properties
were characterized, such as transparency and reflective index at 193-nm (wavelength) along with their solubility in
water and a standard alkaline developer. High transparency, i.e., k value less than 0.01, and very low reflective index,
i.e., lower than n=1.4 at 193-nm wavelength are confirmed. Their dissolution behaviors are studied using the Quartz
Crystal Microbalance (QCM) method. In surprise finding, we find that several of the polymers examined, those that
have high fluorine content, dissolved in water. Test results show that the proposed polymers can be applied as top anti
reflective coatings .
Recently, many fluorine compounds are used widely in photolithography. We synthesized some novel fluorinated
polymers for application in 193-nm lithography and 193-nm immersion lithography. Their fundamental properties were
characterized, such as transparency at 193-nm (wavelength) and solubility in water and a standard alkaline developer.
High transparency, i.e., absorbance better than 0.2 pm-' at 193-nm wavelength, was achieved. The dissolution
behaviors of them were studied by using the Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) method. Several polymers dissolved
in water and showed high transparency and a low refractive index by a wavelength of 193-nm. These results show that
their polymers were able to apply to top anti reflective coating (TARC). The dissolution rates of the fluoropolymers in
water and a 0.262N can be controlled by optimizing counter monomers containing hexafluoroisopropanol (HFA) unit,
carboxylic acid unit and so on. In addition, we have collect water contact angle and sliding angle data. This data shows
that fluoropolymers can be used as top-coats for 193-nm immersion lithography resists.
Various fluorinated polymers were synthesized for application in 193-nm immersion lithography with the goal of improving 157-nm photoresist performance. Their fundamental properties were characterized, such as transparency at 193-nm and 157-nm (wavelength) and solubility in water and a standard alkaline developer. High transparency, i.e., absorbance better than 0.3 μm-1 at 193-nm wavelength, was achieved. The dissolution behaviors of them were studied by using the Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) method. We find that the dissolution rate of Poly(norbornene-2-fluoro-2-hexafluoroalchol) (PNB1FVIP) in 0.065N tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) was >200 times (nm/s) faster than that of the copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and norbornene-2-fluoro-2-hexafluoroalchol (TFE/NB1FVIP). A resist based on TFE/NB1FVIP was able to delineate 75 nm dense lines by exposure at 193-nm (wavelength) with an alternating phase shift mask using a 0.75 NA ArF scanner. The dissolution rates of the fluoropolymers in water and a 0.262N and 0.065 TMAH can be controlled by optimizing counter monomers containing hexafluoroisopropanol (HFA) unit, carboxylic acid unit and so on. In addition, we have collect water contact angle data. This data shows that fluoropolymers can be used as resist cover materials for 193-nm immersion lithography.
Fluoropolymers are key materials in the single-layer resists used in 157-nm lithography. We have been studying fluoropolymers to determine their potential use as base resins. These polymers are main-chain fluorinated polymers synthesized by co-polymerizing tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and functional norbornene. We developed a new polymer that is highly transparent and has high dry-etching resistance by attaching a PG-F protecting group, which has high dry-etching resistance, to a TFE/norbornene-based fluorinated polymer. The dry-etching rate for the 15 % blocked polymer was 1.50 times that of a KrF resist and its absorption coefficient at a 157-nm-exposure wavelength was 1.06 /μm. We introduced various photoacid generators (PAGs) to the polymer, and compared lithographic performance. As a result, we found polymer with a triphenylsulfonium-salts-based PAG had a good pattern profile, and polymer with a high-acidity PAG resolved a fine pattern. In particular, polymer with a triphenylsulfonium perfluorooctane sulfonate PAG was able to resolve a 60-nm line and space pattern. We then added various quenchers to the polymer and the PAG, and compared pattern profiles. We found that the use of a high-basicity quencher improved the resolution of the resist and line edge roughness. Consequently, that the polymer with the triphenylsulfonium perfluorooctane sulfonate PAG and tributylamine quencher could resolve a 55-nm line and space pattern. These results provided guidelines for choosing the PAG and quencher for this polymer.
Main-chain-fluorinated base-resins, using the copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and functional (hexafluoroisopropanol (HFA) group) norbornene, were synthesized. Partial protection of its hydroxyl group as ethoxymethyl group was achieved by two methods, by copolymerization (Method A) or by polymer reaction (Method B). The partial protection by copolymerization was conducted by copolymerizing TFE with the mixture of protected and unprotected monomers (Method A, copolymerization). The partial protection was also carried out by reacting hydroxyl group of the polymer, which is composed of TFE and unprotected monomers with ethoxymethyl chloride in the presence of an amine (Method B). In the polymer reaction, only exo position of the norbornene unit was protected. Their fundamental properties, such as transparency at 157 nm and solubility in a standard alkaline developer, were characterized and studied. A high transparency, i.e., absorbance of less than 0.4 μm-1, was achieved in both methods. However, the polymer prepared by the polymer reaction (Method B) was deprotected more quickly. And this polymer had a higher dissolution rate and development contrast than the polymer prepared by copolymerization (Method A). The Positive-working resists based on this fluororesins were developed and 55 nm dense lines could be delineated by the exposure at 157 nm wavelength with alternating phase shift mask on a 0.9 NA 157 nm exposure tool.
We have synthesized various main-chain fluorinated polymers and studied their transparency and solubility. The main-chain fluorinated polymers were synthesized by co- or ter-polmerization of tetrafluoeoethylene (TFE) with cyclic monomers, especially TFE with newly synthesized norbornene derivatives. Transparency of the main-chain fluorinated polymers tended to be higher with higher fluorine contents. But exact absorbance of the main-chain fluorinated polymers by modifying the STUPID calculation. Solubility of the main-chain fluorinated polymers functionalized by hydroxyfluoroalkyl groups was also studied. We have developed a model to predict pKa of hydroxyfluoroalkyl groups incorporated in the norbornene derivatives, and studied correlation between pKa(OH) and solubility of the co-polymers of the hydroxyfluoroalkyl-functionalized norbornene derivatives with TFE. pKa
Of the hydroxyfluoroalkyl groups were lower with higher fluorine contents, and solubility of the co-polymers tended to be higher with lower pKa of the hydroxyalkyl groups.
Main-chain-fluorinated base-resins, including tetrafluoroethylene and norbornene derivatives, were synthesized and their fundamental properties, such as transparency at 157 nm and solubility in a standard alkaline developer, were characterized. A high transparency, i.e., absorbance of less then 0.5 μm-1, was achieved by optimizing the polymerization conditions with a variety of counter monomers. It was found that the polymerization conditions could also control the dissolution rates of the fluoropolymers and increased the dissolution rate of unprotected fluoropolymers by about three orders of magnitude, which was sufficient for the alkaline developability. Positive-working resists based on fluororesins were developed and showed good transparency of less than 1 μm-1 at 157 nm, and good solubility in a standard alkaline solution of 0.26-N tetramethylammonium (without any swelling behavior). And an acceptable etching rate as resistant as ArF resists was obtained and 65-nm dense lines could be delineated by the exposure at 157-nm wavelength.
Fluorinated polymers show a good transparency at the 157-nm exposure wavelength for single-layer resists. We have developed fluorinated resist polymers for 157-nm lithography. These polymers are main-chain fluorinated polymers synthesized by the co-polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and polymers such as poly(TFE/norbornene/α-fluoroolefin) fluoropolymers (FP1). In this paper, a number of polymerization initiators were evaluated in the polymerization of PF1-type polymers in order to investigate the effect of polymer end groups on optical and dissolution properties. We found that the polymer end group greatly affects the dissolution properties of these polymers when using a standard 0.26N tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) aqueous developer solution. These end groups also affect the polymer transparencies at 157-nm, and the resulting lithographic performance. The fluorocarbon initiator named “F2” induced the lowered absorbance (~0.4μm-1) and an increase in the dissolution rate (~300 nm/sec) without noticeable amounts of swelling. These polymer-based resists can achieve a resolution of less than 60-nm using a 157-nm laser microstepper (NA=0.85) with a Levenson-type strong phase shifting mask.
The reactive ion etch (RIE) properties of fluorine funtionalized polymers in which fluorine atoms were incorporated in the main chain were examined. There was a tendency that the etching rates of these polymers were higher as lower the fluorine contents. The existing four models such as the Ohnishi model, the Kunz model, the Ohfuji model and the Kishimura model were applied to explain the correlation between the etching rates and the polymer compositions or structures, but the errors were too large to explain the relationship. A new model has developed to explain the effect of the fluorine incorporation to the dry etch resistance. The model assumed that there would be a correlation between the number of main chain fluorine atoms and the dry etch resistance, and the main chain fluorine incorporation would increase the dry etch resistance. The model could explain the dry etch resistance of the main chain fluorine incorporated polymers with adequate accuracy.
KEYWORDS: Scanning electron microscopy, Information visualization, Visualization, Interfaces, Human-machine interfaces, Actuators, Electron microscopes, Algorithm development, Control systems, Ferroelectric materials
The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a manipulation system enabling unskilled operators to deal with objects in micron or sub-micron size as easily as to deal with objects in usual size. Described in this paper is the results achieved in the first phase of the research, in which the focusing point is given to the conceptual design, the prototype development and the operability evaluation. The system is modularized into the manipulation unit, the control unit and the man-machine interface. The manipulation unit is further comprised of a twin-arm manipulator mounted on a rotary table and a specimen stage with four degrees of freedom linear along X, Y and Z direction, and rotational around the Z-axis. The manipulator is driven by PZT actuators with magnifier elements and able to cover an envelope as wide a 200 micrometer for each axis of X, Y and Z. Instead of doing a direct operation, the operator steers the manipulator via an user-friendly interface which is designed to absorb the optical and mechanical variations. It allows the operator to concentrate to the manipulation without paying mach attentions to the changes in magnification of SEM or other conditions. The control unit merges the visual information of the SEM and the manipulation information from the user interface and derives the optimum locomotion of the arm for the desired operation.
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