Line edge roughness and intrinsic bias for two methacrylate polymer resist systems

Adam R. Pawloski; Alden Acheta; Harry J. Levinson; Timothy B. Michaelson; Andrew Jamieson; Yukio Nishimura; Carlton Grant Willson

doi:10.1117/1.2200675

1 April 2006 Line edge roughness and intrinsic bias for two methacrylate polymer resist systems

Adam R. Pawloski, Alden Acheta, Harry J. Levinson, Timothy B. Michaelson, Andrew Jamieson, Yukio Nishimura, Carlton Grant Willson

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS, Vol. 5, Issue 2, 023001 (April 2006). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.2200675

Abstract

Line edge roughness (LER) and intrinsic bias of 193-nm photoresist based on two methacrylate polymers are evaluated over a range of base concentration. Roughness is characterized as a function of the image log slope of the aerial image, the gradient in photoacid concentration, and the gradient in polymer protecting groups. Use of the polymer protection gradient as a characteristic roughness metric accounts for the effects of base concentration. Results demonstrate that a methacrylate terpolymer exhibits an advantage over the copolymer resist by achieving lower roughness at smaller values for the polymer protection gradient, resulting in lower LER for patterning. Intrinsic bias is found to be a function of the concentration of base. Process window analysis demonstrates that a greater depth of focus can be achieved for resists with low intrinsic bias. However, a tradeoff in depth of focus with LER is found. Spectral analysis indicates resists with greater intrinsic bias exhibit greater correlation lengths. Systems with greater intrinsic bias demonstrate lesser roughness for patterned features, with a minimum roughness achieved at maximum intrinsic bias. Kinetics of deprotection are modeled to calculate the chemical contrast of each resist. Resists exhibiting the greatest chemical contrast are identified as materials that generate the least roughness.

©(2006) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

Citation Download Citation

Adam R. Pawloski, Alden Acheta, Harry J. Levinson, Timothy B. Michaelson, Andrew Jamieson, Yukio Nishimura, and Carlton Grant Willson "Line edge roughness and intrinsic bias for two methacrylate polymer resist systems," Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS 5(2), 023001 (1 April 2006). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.2200675

Published: 1 April 2006

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available