Hyun-su Kim

Scalability limits of Talbot lithography with plasma-based extreme ultraviolet sources

Abstract. Lithography has been faced with a challenge to bring resolution down to the 10-nm level. One of the promising approaches for such ultra-high-resolution printing is self-imaging Talbot lithography with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation. However, as the size of structures on the mask approaches the wavelength of the radiation, diffraction influence needs to be evaluated precisely to estimate the achievable resolution and quality of the patterns. Here, the results of finite-difference time-domain simulations of the diffraction on EUV transmission masks in dependence to the period (pitch) of the mask are presented with the aim to determine the resolution that can be realistically achieved with the EUV Talbot lithography. The modeled experimental setup is utilizing partially coherent EUV radiation with the wavelength of 10.9 nm from Xe/Ar discharge plasma EUV source and Ni/Nb-based amplitude transmission mask. The results demonstrate that the method can be used to produce patterns with resolution down to 7.5-nm half-pitch with 2∶1 mask demagnification utilizing achromatic Talbot effect and transverse electric (TE)-polarized light.

Diffraction-assisted extreme ultraviolet proximity lithography for fabrication of nanophotonic arrays

In this article, the possibilities and limitations of proximity lithography with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation are explored theoretically and experimentally. Utilizing partially coherent EUV radiation with a wavelength of 10.88 nm from a Xe/Ar discharge plasma EUV source, proximity patterning of various nanoantenna arrays has been performed. The experimental results are compared with the results of numerical scalar diffraction simulations, and it is shown that proximity printing in the Fresnel diffraction mode can enable production of high-resolution features even with lower resolution masks, successfully demonstrating sub-30 nm edge resolution in the resist. The potential of the method is explored by simulation of the patterning through circular and triangular apertures as well as through bowtie antenna patterns, with the results suggesting that precise control of the proximity gap and the exposure dose together with simulation-supported mask design optimizations may allow for a wide variety of high-resolution structures to be printed through relatively simple transmission masks. The method is especially suited for high-performance manufacturing of submicrometer sized nanophotonic arrays.

Fractional Talbot lithography with extreme ultraviolet light

Fractional Talbot effect leads to the possibility to implement patterning of structures with smaller periods than the master mask. This is particularly attractive when using short wavelength illumination in the extreme ultraviolet because of attainable resolution in the sub-100-nm range. In this Letter, we demonstrate the Talbot lithography with the fractional Talbot effect under coherent illumination generated with a capillary discharge Ne-like Ar extreme ultraviolet laser. Various spatial frequency multiplications up to 5x are achieved using a parent grating. This technique allows a fabrication of nanostructures with high-resolution patterns, which is of high interest in many applications such as the manufacturing of plasmonic surfaces and photonic devices.

Optical properties of 2D fractional Talbot patterns under coherent EUV illumination

We investigate optical properties of (2D) fractional Talbot patterns under illumination with EUV laser light. The fractional Talbot effect, due to spatial frequency multiplication, can enable patterning of micro and nano-structures with various feature sizes using a micro-scale pitch mask. The experiment is performed with a free-standing mask fabricated by focused ion beam milling and a highly coherent illumination at 46.9 nm wavelength generated by a compact capillary discharge Ne-like Argon laser. As a result of spatial frequency multiplication, structure density of a square array of apertures in the mask was increased by a factor of up to 9 at the recording plane. The depth of field of the fractional Talbot images has been investigated using Fresnel diffraction analysis. Added field distribution complexity caused by asymmetry of the 2D arrays was observed both in simulation and in the experiment. This approach could be useful for sub-micron structuring of 2D patterns for various applications including among others the fabrication of photonic crystals, quantum dots, and also of submicron-electronic devices.

Restorative Self-Image of Rough-Line Grids: Application to Coherent EUV Talbot Lithography

Self-imaging is a well-known optical phenomenon produced by diffraction of a coherent beam in a periodic structure. The self-imaging effect (or Talbot effect) replicates the field intensity at a periodic mask in certain planes, effectively producing in those planes an image of the mask. However, the effect has not been analyzed for a rough-line grid from the point of view of the fidelity of the image. In this paper, we investigate the restorative effect of the self-image applied to the lithography of gratings with rough lines. This paper is applied to characterize a Talbot lithography experiment implemented in the extreme ultraviolet. With the self-imaging technique, a mask with grid patterns having bumps randomly placed along the line edges reproduces a grid pattern with smoothed line edges. Simulation explores the approach further for the cases of sub-100-nm pitch grids.

Extreme ultraviolet proximity lithography for fast, flexible and parallel fabrication of infrared antennas

We present a method for fabrication of large arrays of nano-antennas using extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) illumination. A discharge-produced plasma source generating EUV radiation around 10.88 nm wavelength is used for the illumination of a photoresist via a mask in a proximity printing setup. The method of metallic nanoantennas fabrication utilizes a bilayer photoresist and employs a lift-off process. The impact of Fresnel-diffraction of EUV light in the mask on a shape of the nanostructures has been investigated. It is shown how by the use of the same rectangular apertures in the transmission mask, antennas of various shapes can be fabricated. Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, spectra of antennas reflectivity were measured and compared to FDTD simulations demonstrating good agreement.

Wide-field broadband extreme ultraviolet transmission ptychography using a high-harmonic source

High-harmonic generation (HHG) provides a laboratory-scale source of coherent radiation ideally suited to lensless coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) in the EUV and x-ray spectral region. Here we demonstrate transmission extreme ultraviolet (EUV) ptychography, a scanning variant of CDI, using radiation at a wavelength around 29 nm from an HHG source. Image resolution is diffraction-limited at 54 nm and fields of view up to ∼100  μm are demonstrated. These results demonstrate the potential for wide-field, high-resolution, laboratory-scale EUV imaging using HHG-based sources with potential application in biological imaging or EUV lithography pellicle inspection.

Enabling laboratory EUV research with a compact exposure tool

In this work we present the capabilities of the designed and realized extreme ultraviolet laboratory exposure tool (EUVLET) which has been developed at the RWTH-Aachen, Chair for the Technology of Optical Systems (TOS), in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT) and Bruker ASC GmbH. Main purpose of this laboratory setup is the direct application in research facilities and companies with small batch production, where the fabrication of high resolution periodic arrays over large areas is required. The setup can also be utilized for resist characterization and evaluation of its pre- and post-exposure processing. The tool utilizes a partially coherent discharge produced plasma (DPP) source and minimizes the number of other critical components to a transmission grating, the photoresist coated wafer and the positioning system for wafer and grating and utilizes the Talbot lithography approach. To identify the limits of this approach first each component is analyzed and optimized separately and relations between these components are identified. The EUV source has been optimized to achieve the best values for spatial and temporal coherence. Phase-shifting and amplitude transmission gratings have been fabricated and exposed. Several commercially available electron beam resists and one EUV resist have been characterized by open frame exposures to determine their contrast under EUV radiation. Cold development procedure has been performed to further increase the resist contrast. By analyzing the exposure results it can be demonstrated that only a 1:1 copy of the mask structure can be fully resolved by the utilization of amplitude masks. The utilized phase-shift masks offer higher 1st order diffraction efficiency and allow a demagnification of the mask structure in the achromatic Talbot plane.

Single Exposure Imaging of Talbot Carpets and Resolution Characterization of Detectors for Micro- and Nano- Patterns

In this paper, we demonstrate a self-imaging technique that can visualize longitudinal interference patterns behind periodically-structured objects, which is often referred to as Talbot carpet. Talbot carpet is of great interest due to ever-decreasing scale of interference features. We demonstrate experimentally that Talbot carpets can be imaged in a single exposure configuration revealing a broad spectrum of multi-scale features. We have performed rigorous diffraction simulations for showing that Talbot carpet print can produce ever-decreasing structures down to limits set by mask feature sizes. This demonstrates that large-scale pattern masks may be used for direct printing of features with substantially smaller scales. This approach is also useful for characterization of image sensors and recording media

Lloyd’s mirror interference lithography with EUV radiation from a high-harmonic source

We demonstrate interference lithography using a high-harmonic source. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation is produced by high-harmonic generation with 800 nm light from a femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser (40 fs pulses, 1 kHz, 2 W average power) in argon gas. Interference patterns created using Lloyds mirror setup and monochromatized radiation at the 27th harmonic (29 nm) are recorded using a ZEP-520A photoresist, producing features with <200 nm pitch. The effect of the use of femtosecond pulsed EUV radiation on the recorded pattern is investigated. The capability of the high-harmonic source for high-resolution patterning is discussed.