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Photoresists in extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL)

  • Danilo De Simone

    Danilo De Simone received his MS degree in Chemistry from the University of Palermo, and in 2000, he joined STMicroelectronics in Italy. Until 2007, he led the development of lithographic materials for 90-nm and 65-nm NOR flash devices and covered the role of assignee at STM Crolles2 R&D Fab in France and STM Singapore fab working on multiple R&D and production projects. In 2008, he moved to Numonyx taking the ownership to develop 32-nm double patterning modules for phase-change memory devices. In 2011, after Numonyx was acquired by Micron Technology, he worked to introduce in HVM 45-nm PCM devices and to support the lithographic development of novel magnetic devices. In 2013, he joined IMEC in Belgium leading the exploration of photomaterials for EUV lithography.

     EMAIL logo     , Yannick Vesters

    Yannick Vesters received his BS and MS degrees in Chemical Engineering and Material Science from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. During his MS, he spent 1 year at the Simon Bolivar University in Venezuela. He worked as an engineer for 2 years before starting his PhD at the University of Leuven, Belgium. He is currently performing his PhD research on the improvement of the lithographic performances of photoresists for EUV lithography at IMEC. He focuses on the understanding of patterning mechanism and on novel photoresist materials.

         and Geert Vandenberghe

    Geert Vandenberghe PhD has been at IMEC for over 20 years. He joined IMEC’s Lithography Department in 1995 where he has been working in multiple areas such as resists, imaging, resolution-enhancement techniques, and on various wavelengths ranging from 248 nm to 13.5 nm, all in the framework on IMEC’s Advanced Lithography Research Program. Currently, he is managing the Exploratory Patterning R&D activities, including EUV lithography and Directed Self-Assembly. Geert Vandenberghe received his Master of Science and PhD degrees from the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven in Belgium.
Published/Copyright: May 19, 2017
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Advanced Optical Technologies
From the journal Advanced Optical Technologies Volume 6 Issue 3-4

Abstract

The evolutionary advances in photosensitive material technology, together with the shortening of the exposure wavelength in the photolithography process, have enabled and driven the transistor scaling dictated by Moore’s law for the last 50 years. Today, the shortening wavelength trend continues to improve the chips’ performance over time by feature size miniaturization. The next-generation lithography technology for high-volume manufacturing (HVM) is extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL), using a light source with a wavelength of 13.5 nm. Here, we provide a brief introduction to EUVL and patterning requirements for sub-0-nm feature sizes from a photomaterial standpoint, discussing traditional and novel photoresists. Emphasis will be put on the novel class of metal-containing resists (MCRs) as well as their challenges from a manufacturing prospective.

Keywords: CAR; EUV photoresists; MCR; metal-containing resist; metal oxide resist

About the authors

Danilo De Simone

Danilo De Simone received his MS degree in Chemistry from the University of Palermo, and in 2000, he joined STMicroelectronics in Italy. Until 2007, he led the development of lithographic materials for 90-nm and 65-nm NOR flash devices and covered the role of assignee at STM Crolles2 R&D Fab in France and STM Singapore fab working on multiple R&D and production projects. In 2008, he moved to Numonyx taking the ownership to develop 32-nm double patterning modules for phase-change memory devices. In 2011, after Numonyx was acquired by Micron Technology, he worked to introduce in HVM 45-nm PCM devices and to support the lithographic development of novel magnetic devices. In 2013, he joined IMEC in Belgium leading the exploration of photomaterials for EUV lithography.

Yannick Vesters

Yannick Vesters received his BS and MS degrees in Chemical Engineering and Material Science from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. During his MS, he spent 1 year at the Simon Bolivar University in Venezuela. He worked as an engineer for 2 years before starting his PhD at the University of Leuven, Belgium. He is currently performing his PhD research on the improvement of the lithographic performances of photoresists for EUV lithography at IMEC. He focuses on the understanding of patterning mechanism and on novel photoresist materials.

Geert Vandenberghe

Geert Vandenberghe PhD has been at IMEC for over 20 years. He joined IMEC’s Lithography Department in 1995 where he has been working in multiple areas such as resists, imaging, resolution-enhancement techniques, and on various wavelengths ranging from 248 nm to 13.5 nm, all in the framework on IMEC’s Advanced Lithography Research Program. Currently, he is managing the Exploratory Patterning R&D activities, including EUV lithography and Directed Self-Assembly. Geert Vandenberghe received his Master of Science and PhD degrees from the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven in Belgium.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Jan van Schoot from ASML for the valuable discussions.

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Received: 2017-3-14
Accepted: 2017-4-19
Published Online: 2017-5-19
Published in Print: 2017-6-27

©2017 THOSS Media & De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Cover and Frontmatter
  2. Views
  3. Patterning roadmap: 2017 prospects
  4. Community
  5. Conference Notes
  6. News from the European Optical Society (EOS)
  7. Topical issue: Optical Nanostructuring
  8. Editorial
  9. Next-generation lithography – an outlook on EUV projection and nanoimprint
  10. Tutorial
  11. Photoresists in extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL)
  12. Review Articles
  13. Light sources for high-volume manufacturing EUV lithography: technology, performance, and power scaling
  14. Characterization and mitigation of 3D mask effects in extreme ultraviolet lithography
  15. EUV mask defectivity – a process of increasing control toward HVM
  16. Development and performance of EUV pellicles
  17. A review of nanoimprint lithography for high-volume semiconductor device manufacturing
  18. Large area nanoimprint by substrate conformal imprint lithography (SCIL)
  19. Laser interference patterning methods: Possibilities for high-throughput fabrication of periodic surface patterns
  20. Research Articles
  21. A full-process chain assessment for nanoimprint technology on 200-mm industrial platform
  22. Challenges of anamorphic high-NA lithography and mask making
  23. Research Article
  24. Chip bonding of low-melting eutectic alloys by transmitted laser radiation
https://doi.org/10.1515/aot-2017-0021
Keywords for this article
CAR; EUV photoresists; MCR; metal-containing resist; metal oxide resist

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Cover and Frontmatter
  2. Views
  3. Patterning roadmap: 2017 prospects
  4. Community
  5. Conference Notes
  6. News from the European Optical Society (EOS)
  7. Topical issue: Optical Nanostructuring
  8. Editorial
  9. Next-generation lithography – an outlook on EUV projection and nanoimprint
  10. Tutorial
  11. Photoresists in extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL)
  12. Review Articles
  13. Light sources for high-volume manufacturing EUV lithography: technology, performance, and power scaling
  14. Characterization and mitigation of 3D mask effects in extreme ultraviolet lithography
  15. EUV mask defectivity – a process of increasing control toward HVM
  16. Development and performance of EUV pellicles
  17. A review of nanoimprint lithography for high-volume semiconductor device manufacturing
  18. Large area nanoimprint by substrate conformal imprint lithography (SCIL)
  19. Laser interference patterning methods: Possibilities for high-throughput fabrication of periodic surface patterns
  20. Research Articles
  21. A full-process chain assessment for nanoimprint technology on 200-mm industrial platform
  22. Challenges of anamorphic high-NA lithography and mask making
  23. Research Article
  24. Chip bonding of low-melting eutectic alloys by transmitted laser radiation
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