The influence of the Coulomb interaction effect in the electron beam on the developed resist structure for the projection lithography

• Published in: Microelectronic engineering Vol. 57; pp. 255 - 261
• Main Authors: Kotera, M., Sakai, M., Yamada, K., Tamura, K., Tomo, Y., Simizu, I., Yoshida, A., Kojima, Y., Yamabe, M.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.09.2001; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Coulomb interaction; Electron beam projection lithography; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Microelectronic fabrication (materials and surfaces technology); Resist structure; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Electron beam projection lithography; Coulomb interaction; Resist structure; Electron scattering; Microelectronic fabrication; Electron beam lithography
• ISSN: 0167-9317; 1873-5568
• DOI: 10.1016/S0167-9317(01)00486-5

A series of simulations are introduced to express the processes of the electron projection lithography quantitatively. It consists of the following three major steps: (1) electron trajectory simulation in an electron beam projection lithography optical system considering the Coulomb interaction effect among electrons and the lens aberrations, (2) electron energy deposition simulation in a resist on Si substrate, and (3) time evolution three-dimensional resist-development simulation. They are used to predict the error propagation characteristics in the sequence of lithography processes up to the three-dimensional resist structure after development. The influence of a variation in the exposure intensity on the final resist structure is demonstrated as an example.