High-speed atomic force microscopy studies of 193-nm immersion photoresists during tetramethylammonium hydroxide development

Johnpeter Ngunjiri; Gregory Meyers; James F. Cameron; Yasuhiro Suzuki; Hyun K. Jeon; Dave Lee; Kwang Mo Choi; Jung Woo Kim; Kwang-Hwyi Im; Hae-Jin Lim

doi:10.1117/1.JMM.17.2.023506

22 June 2018 High-speed atomic force microscopy studies of 193-nm immersion photoresists during tetramethylammonium hydroxide development

Johnpeter Ngunjiri, Gregory Meyers, James F. Cameron, Yasuhiro Suzuki, Hyun K. Jeon, Dave Lee, Kwang Mo Choi, Jung Woo Kim, Kwang-Hwyi Im, Hae-Jin Lim

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS, Vol. 17, Issue 2, 023506 (June 2018). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMM.17.2.023506

Abstract

This paper reports on our studies of the dynamic process of positive tone photoresist development in real time. Using high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) in dilute alkaline developer solution, changes in morphology and nanomechanical properties of patterned resist were monitored. The Bruker Dimension FastScan AFM was used to analyze 193-nm acrylic-based immersion resists in tetramethylammonium hydroxide developer solution. HS-AFM operated in PeakForce Tapping^® (Registered Trademark of Bruker, Inc.) mode can allow for concurrent measurements of resist topography, stiffness, adhesion, and deformation during development. These studies focused on HS-AFM topography data as it readily revealed detailed information about initial resist morphology, followed by a resist swelling process, and eventual dissolution of the exposed resist areas. HS-AFM showed potential for tracking and understanding development of patterned resist films and can be useful in evaluating the dissolution properties of different resist designs. Also discussed are the roles of AFM tip shape and resist feature geometry on the measured line edge roughness using a simulation procedure.

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Johnpeter Ngunjiri, Gregory Meyers, James F. Cameron, Yasuhiro Suzuki, Hyun K. Jeon, Dave Lee, Kwang Mo Choi, Jung Woo Kim, Kwang-Hwyi Im, and Hae-Jin Lim "High-speed atomic force microscopy studies of 193-nm immersion photoresists during tetramethylammonium hydroxide development," Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS 17(2), 023506 (22 June 2018). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMM.17.2.023506

Received: 26 January 2018; Accepted: 30 May 2018; Published: 22 June 2018

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