Gary N. Taylor

Methacrylate resists and antireflective coatings for 193-nm lithography

Methacrylates were the first class of resist to be examined for use in 193nm lithography. They are still useful today, but have a very different molecular structure because of the requirements for development in 0.262N tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide and high etching resistance. A major driving force for their continued use is the availability of a wide variety of methacrylate monomers and the use of free racial polymerization which imparts a wide range of properties to the polymers and makes them very cost effective.

Organic antireflective coatings for 193-nm lithography

Organic anti-reflective coatings (ARCs) continue to play an important role in semiconductor manufacturing. These materials provide a convenient means of greatly reducing the resist photospeed swing and reflective notching. In this paper, we describe a novel class of ARC materials optimized for lithographic applications using 193 nm exposure tools. These ARCs are based upon polymers containing hydroxyl-alkyl methacrylate monomers for crosslinkable sites, styrene for a chromophore at 193 nm, and additional alkyl-methacrylate monomers as property modifiers. A glycouril crosslinker and a thermally-activated acidic catalyst provide a route to forming an impervious crosslinked film activate data high bake temperatures. ARC compositions can be adjusted to optimize the films real and imaginary refractive indices. Selection of optimal target indices for 193 nm lithographic processing through simulations is described. Potential chromophores for 193 nm were explored using ZNDO modeling. We show how these theoretical studies were combined with material selection criteria to yield a versatile organic anti-reflectant film, Shipley 193 G0 ARC. Lithographic process data indicates the materials is capable of supporting high resolution patterning, with the line features displaying a sharp resist/ARC interface with low line edge roughness. The resist Eo swing is successfully reduced from 43 percent to 6 percent.

Practical resists for 193-nm lithography using 2.38% TMAH: physicochemical influences on resist performance

This paper describes some of the basic physicochemical considerations necessary to design a resist for use in 193 nm lithography. Of fundamental importance are the photoreaction which generates the photoacid, the reactivity of the photoacid the dissolution of the resist in the developer, and the adhesion of the images to the substrate. These phenomena are discussed and we show results that demonstrate progress in these areas. In addition, we show preliminary etch resistance of our polymer system and selected lithographic results.

Factors influencing the properties of fluoropolymer-based resists for 157-nm lithography

This paper describes characterization and lithographic results for one class of low absorbance fluoropolymers that were developed for use in 157 nm lithography. We discuss basic resist properties such as absorbance, hydrophobicity, thickness, resolution and profile for dense 1:1 and semi- dense 1:1.5-10 L/S features, reflection control and plasma etching resistance as a function of composition. Lithographic results were obtained on two types of substrates, silicon and SiON hardmask anti-reflectant. The results on the anti-reflectant were compared to those obtained from simulations using PROLITH. Some of the conclusions of this investigation are: Lower absorbance resists have higher hydrophobicity and better resolution; Resists with high hydrophobicity have very poor adhesion on SiOn, but have very good adhesion on Si and organic anti-reflectants; Only inorganic anti-reflectants have sufficient absorption to provide very low reflectance in <30nm thick films; 100 nm 1:1 L/S resolution is attained in 205 nm thick resist on Si at a resist absorption of 2.2/micrometers . The profile is tapered due to absorption; Adhesion to SiON has been achieved by polymer modification.