Analysis of Stochastic Effect in Line-and-Space Resist Patterns Fabricated by Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography
Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is promising for the high-volume production of semiconductor devices for the 16 nm node and below. However, the stochastic effect is a significant concern in lithography using high-energy (92.5 eV) photons and highly sensitive resists. In this study, we report a...
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| Published in | Applied physics express Vol. 6; no. 2; pp. 026502 - 026502-4 |
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| Main Authors | , , |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
The Japan Society of Applied Physics
01.02.2013
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| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is promising for the high-volume production of semiconductor devices for the 16 nm node and below. However, the stochastic effect is a significant concern in lithography using high-energy (92.5 eV) photons and highly sensitive resists. In this study, we report a technique for evaluating the stochastic effect on line edge roughness (LER). Resist patterns were analyzed using a Monte Carlo simulation on the basis of the sensitization and reaction mechanisms of chemically amplified EUV resists. The contribution of protected unit fluctuation to LER was estimated to be $\pm 0.31$ to $\pm 0.37\sigma$. |
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| Bibliography: | Dependences of (a) measured line width and (b) LER on exposure dose and half-pitch (nominal line width defined by mask) of EIDEC standard resist. The deviation from the half-pitch was indicated as the line width. Dependences of dissolution characteristics on pattern size. The dissolution point is defined by the normalized protected unit concentration of the sidewall surface of resist patterns at half the height of resist patterns. Distribution of protected units at half the height of resist patterns. The protected units of the polymer before PEB were randomly distributed. The vertical axis represents the number of protected units per polymer normalized by its initial value. The half-pitch was 23 nm. The exposure dose was 16.0 mJ cm -2 . $\sigma$ was normalized by the initial number of protected units per polymer. The experimental line width and LER and an SEM image are also shown. Proportionality constant between LER and the standard deviation of protected units connected to polymer. |
| ISSN: | 1882-0778 1882-0786 |
| DOI: | 10.7567/APEX.6.026502 |