Development of advanced silylation process for 157-nm lithography

摘要

The top surface imaging (TSI) process is a very important technology to extend photolithography down to 0.1 μm or smaller dimensions. For the TSI process, we are evaluating an advanced silylation process applying a vapor phase silylation treatment after an alkaline wet-development of the top layer (SILYAL). We could apply a very thin poly-vinyl-phenol type resist with 0.07 μm or less thickness as the top silylation layer in order to improve the optical contrast during the exposure. In this paper, we report the thigh capability and progress of this SILYAL process for 157-nm lithography.