Naoko Kihara

Fabrication of Ridge-and-Groove Servo Pattern Consisting of Self-Assembled Dots for 2.5

Bit patterned media (BPM) is fabricated by a directed self-assembled polymer mask. CoPt magnetic dots with 17 nm pitch (2.5 Tb/in2) consists of ridge-and-groove servo patterns as well as circular data tracks. Distribution of dot size and dot pitch is 16% and 15%, respectively. The position error signal (PES) is estimated numerically employing a simulation model using estimated deviation of dot size and pitch. PES linearity was found to be fairly good in spite of large dot pitch deviation. Distribution of dot size and dot pitch causes distortion in the reproduced waveform, but it does not degrade the phase information of the servo signal. This result indicates that the ridge-and-groove servo has a high tolerance to the amplitude noise and is suitable for BPM. When the width of the read head is close to the dot pitch, the linearity error increases owing to the dot size and dot pitch deviation. Reduction of these distributions is necessary in order to apply BPM to hard disk drives.

\hbox{Tb/in}^{2}

The fabrication of an etching template for 5 Td/in.2 bit patterned media using a self-organization material, namely, poly(styrene)-poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PS-PDMS), was investigated. The molecular weight of the PS-PDMS for forming the areal density of 5 Td/in.2 dot pattern was estimated from the polymerization index related to the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter. Annealing was carried out to obtain a fine-order dot pattern. PS-PDMS films were subjected to thermal treatment or solvent annealing. The ordering of the dot array in these films was evaluated by using Voronoi diagrams. The results indicate that the film annealed in N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) vapor showed finer ordering than did the thermally treated film. This seemed to be attributable to the high solubility parameter of NMP. The soaking of NMP into the PS phase slightly shifted the phase separation energy of the polymer matrix. The lattice spacing of the obtained hexagonal pattern was 11 nm. By using low-molecular-weight PS-PDMS with solvent...

Bit Patterned Media

FePt bit patterned media (BPM) was fabricated with a self-assembled polymer mask with a feature size of 12 nm pitch (equivalent to 5 Tdots/in2 ). A 3.5 nm FePt film with high c-axis crystal orientation was prepared for the magnetic recording layer. A solvent vapor annealing process was applied for obtaining uniform directed self-assembling of polystyrene (PS)-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) diblock copolymer pattern. Pattern transfer from a polymer mask to FePt layer was achieved by employing a carbon hard mask. In spite of excellent magnetic characteristics of FePt layer, the fabricated FePt BPM showed small coercivity (Hc) of 6 kOe and large switching field distribution (SFD) of 21%. These results are due to the etching damage of FePt dots. Disordering of FePt L10 phase by the etching damage reduced magnetic anisotropy energy (Ku). The damaged portion became a nucleus of the magnetization reversal and reduced Hc. Distribution of the damaged volume and the extent of the Ku reduction contributed to large SFD. This model is supported by the experimental data of magnetic field angle dependence of switching field. The result suggests the domain wall motion type of magnetization reversal mode, where the domain wall is created at the interface between the damaged portion and the internal high-Ku region.

Fabrication of 5 Tdot/in.2 bit patterned media with servo pattern using directed self-assembly

We demonstrate the mold fabrication and replication process for the production of 0.8 and 2.5 Tbit/in.2 directed self-assembly bit patterned media (DSA-BPM). These devices are fabricated with 33 and 17 nm dot pitch patterns using the microphase segregation structure of polystyrene–poly(dimethylsiloxane) as an etching mask template. The self-assembled dot arrays are simultaneously ordered on both the circular tracks for the data area and the arbitrary marks for the servo area by DSA using groove guides. We fabricated the Si mold with dot pillars of 19.3 nm height for the 2.5 Tbit/in.2 DSA-BPM from the poly(dimethylsiloxane) dot mask. We also demonstrated the nickel mold replication of the 0.8 Tbit/in.2 DSA-BPM by electroforming from the Si mold.

5 Tdots/in 2 bit patterned media fabricated by a directed self-assembly mask

Abstract A catechol derivative, hexahydroxycyclotribenzylene protected with p - t -butoxycarbonylmethyl group (HCB-BCM), was synthesized. We found that the photoresist containing HCB-BCM could be dissolved in water, after EB-exposure and post-exposure bake. It showed a high sensitivity and contrast, and high durability to CF 4 plasma etching. At 10 μC/cm 2 under 50-keV electron beam, 90-nm space pattern could be obtained.

Nanoimprint Mold for 2.5 Tbit/in.2 Directed Self-Assembly Bit Patterned Media with Phase Servo Pattern

In this study, half-pitch (HP) 15 nm line-and-space (L/S) metal wires were successfully fabricated and fully integrated on a 300 mm wafer by applying directed self-assembly (DSA) lithography and pattern transfer for semiconductor device manufacturing. In order to evaluate process performances of DSA, we developed a simple sub-15 nm L/S patterning process using polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) lamellar block copolymer (BCP), which utilizes trimming resist and shallow etching spin-on-glass (SOG) as pinning guide[1]-[4]. From the results of defect inspection after SOG etch using Electron Beam (EB) inspection system, defects were classified as typical DSA defects or defects relating to DSA pattern transfer. From the evaluation of DSA L/S pattern Critical Dimension (CD), roughness and local placement error using CD-SEM, it is considered that isolated PS lines are placed at the centerline between guides and that placement of paired PS lines depends on the guide width. The control of the guide resist CD is the key to local placement error and the paired lines adjacent to the guide shifted toward the outside (0.5 nm) along the centerline of the isolated line after SOG etch. We demonstrated fabrication of HP 15 nm metal wires in trenches formed by the DSA process with reactive ion etching (RIE), followed by metal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). By SEM observation of alignment errors between the trenches and connect spaces, overlay shift patterns (-4 nm) in guide lithography mask were fabricated without intra-wafer alignment errors.

A new positive electron-beam resist material composed of catechol derivatives

In this study, a series of perpendicular lamellae-forming poly(polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane methacrylate-block-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate)s (PMAPOSS-b-PTFEMAs) was developed based on the bottom-up concept of creating a simple yet effective material by tailoring the chemical properties and molecular composition of the material. The use of silicon (Si)-containing hybrid high-χ block copolymers (BCPs) provides easy access to sub-10 nm feature sizes. However, as the surface free energies (SFEs) of Si-containing polymers are typically vastly lower than organic polymers, this tends to result in the selective segregation of the inorganic block onto the air interface and increased difficulty in controlling the BCP orientation in thin films. Therefore, by balancing the SFEs between the organic and inorganic blocks through the use of poly(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) (PTFEMA) on the organic block, a polymer with an SFE similar to Si-containing polymers, orientation control of the BCP domains in thin films becomes much simpler. Herein, perpendicularly oriented BCP thin films with a χeff value of 0.45 were fabricated using simple spin-coating and thermal annealing processes under ambient conditions. The thin films displayed a minimum domain size of L0 = 11 nm, as observed via atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Furthermore, directed self-assembly (DSA) of the BCP on a topographically prepatterned substrate using the grapho-epitaxy method was used to successfully obtain perpendicularly oriented lamellae with a half pitch size of ca. 8 nm.

Directed self-assembly lithography using coordinated line epitaxy (COOL) process

We proposed a new concept of “defect-aware process margin.” Defect-aware process margin was evaluated by investigating the energy difference between the free-energy of the most stable state and that of the first metastable state. The energy difference is strongly related to the defect density in DSA process. As a result of our rigorous simulations, the process margin of the pinning layer width was found to be: (1) worse when the pinning layer affinity is too large, (2) better when the background affinity has the opposite sign of the pinning layer affinity, and (3) better when the top of the background layer is higher than that of the pinning layer by 0.1L0.

Perpendicular Orientation Control without Interfacial Treatment of RAFT-Synthesized High-χ Block Copolymer Thin Films with Sub-10 nm Features Prepared via Thermal Annealing

Directed self-assembly (DSA) is one of the promising candidates for next-generation lithography. We developed a novel simple sub-15 nm line-and-space (L/S) patterning process, the “coordinated line epitaxy (COOL) process,” using grapho- and chemo-hybrid epitaxy. In this study we evaluate the DSA L/S pattern transfer margin. Since defect reduction is difficult in the case of the DSA pattern transfer process, there is a need to increase the pattern transfer margin. We also describe process integration for electrical yield verification.

Defect-aware process margin for chemo-epitaxial directed self-assembly lithography using simulation method based on self-consistent field theory

Bit patterned media (BPM) is a promising candidate for next-generation magnetic recording media beyond 2.5 Tb/in2. To realize such high-density patterned media, directed self-assembling (DSA) technology is a possible solution to form fine dots. In order to read and write magnetic signals on a magnetic dot of magnetic media, the position of magnetic dots must be controlled. We examined ordering of directed self-assembly of diblock copolymer dots with a variety of prepatterned guides in some conditions and evaluated the ordering of the dots by using Delaunay triangulation and Voronoi diagram. Applying the optimized conditions, we obtained highly controlled dot pattern suitable for magnetic recording media.