Thin Bilayer Resists for 193nm and Future Photolithography II

摘要

Bilayer, Si-containing resists are a technique of interest and a strong candidate to replace chemical vapor deposition (CVD) hardmask processes for small critical dimensions (CDs). Previously, we proposed a very thin film approach using bilayer resists for future lithography, defined the requirements for the resists, and demonstrated 55nm transferred patterns with high aspect ratios using 2-beam interferometer exposure. In this paper, we have demonstrated smaller-than-60nm transferred patterns with a high numerical aperture (NA) scanner, as well as 45nm and 40nm transferred patterns with a 2-beam system using a 20% Si-containing thin bilayer resist. Immersion scanner exposure and a 35nm CD with 2-beam system were also studied.