New ESCAP-type resist with enhanced etch resistance and its application to future DRAM and logic devices

Will Conley; William R. Brunsvold; Fred Buehrer; Ronald DellaGuardia; David Dobuzinsky; Timothy R. Farrell; Hok Ho; Ahmad D. Katnani; Robin Keller; James T. Marsh; Paul Muller; Ronald Nunes; Hung Y. Ng; James M. Oberschmidt; Michael Pike; Deborah Ryan; Tina Cotler-Wagner; Ron Schulz; Hiroshi Ito; Donald C. Hofer; Gregory Breyta; Debra Fenzel-Alexander; Gregory M. Wallraff; Juliann Opitz; James W. Thackeray; George G. Barclay; James F. Cameron; Tracy K. Lindsay; Michael Francis Cronin; Matthew L. Moynihan; Sassan Nour; Jacque H. Georger Jr.; Mike Mori; Peter Hagerty; Roger F. Sinta; Thomas M. Zydowsky

doi:10.1117/12.275830

7 July 1997 New ESCAP-type resist with enhanced etch resistance and its application to future DRAM and logic devices

Will Conley, William R. Brunsvold, Fred Buehrer, Ronald DellaGuardia, David Dobuzinsky, Timothy R. Farrell, Hok Ho, Ahmad D. Katnani, Robin Keller, James T. Marsh, Paul Muller, Ronald Nunes, Hung Y. Ng, James M. Oberschmidt, Michael Pike, Deborah Ryan, Tina Cotler-Wagner, Ron Schulz, Hiroshi Ito, Donald C. Hofer, Gregory Breyta, Debra Fenzel-Alexander, Gregory M. Wallraff, Juliann Opitz, James W. Thackeray, George G. Barclay, James F. Cameron, Tracy K. Lindsay, Michael Francis Cronin, Matthew L. Moynihan, Sassan Nour, Jacque H. Georger Jr., Mike Mori, Peter Hagerty, Roger F. Sinta, Thomas M. Zydowsky

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 3049, Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XIV; (1997) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.275830
Event: Microlithography '97, 1997, Santa Clara, CA, United States

Abstract

This new photoresist system extends the capability of the ESCAP platform previously discussed. (1) This resist material features a modified ESCAP type 4-hydroxystyrene-t-butyl acrylate polymer system which is capable of annealing due to the increased stability of the t-butyl ester blocking group. The resist based on this polymer system exhibits excellent delay stability and enhanced etch resistance versus previous DUV resists, APEX and UV2HS. Improved stabilization of chemically amplified photoresist images can be achieved through reduction of film volume by film densification. When the host polymer provides good thermal stability the soft bake conditions can be above or near the Tg (glass transition) temperature of the polymer. The concept of annealing (film densification) can significantly improve the environmental stability of the photoresist system. Improvements in the photoacid generator, processing conditions and overall formulation coupled with high NA (numerical aperture) exposure systems, affords linear lithography down to 0.15 micrometer for isolated lines with excellent post exposure delay stability. In this paper, we discuss the UV4 and UV5 photoresist systems based on the ESCAP materials platform. The resist based on this polymer system exhibits excellent delay stability and enhanced etch resistance versus APEX-E and UV2HS. Due to lower acrylate content, the R_max for this system can be tuned for feature-type optimization. We demonstrate sub-0.25 micrometer process window for isolated lines using these resists on a conventional exposure tool with chrome on glass masks. We also discuss current use for various device levels including gate structures for advanced microprocessor designs. Additional data will be provided on advanced DRAM applications for 0.25 micrometer and sub-0.25 micrometer programs.

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Will Conley, William R. Brunsvold, Fred Buehrer, Ronald DellaGuardia, David Dobuzinsky, Timothy R. Farrell, Hok Ho, Ahmad D. Katnani, Robin Keller, James T. Marsh, Paul Muller, Ronald Nunes, Hung Y. Ng, James M. Oberschmidt, Michael Pike, Deborah Ryan, Tina Cotler-Wagner, Ron Schulz, Hiroshi Ito, Donald C. Hofer, Gregory Breyta, Debra Fenzel-Alexander, Gregory M. Wallraff, Juliann Opitz, James W. Thackeray, George G. Barclay, James F. Cameron, Tracy K. Lindsay, Michael Francis Cronin, Matthew L. Moynihan, Sassan Nour, Jacque H. Georger Jr., Mike Mori, Peter Hagerty, Roger F. Sinta, and Thomas M. Zydowsky "New ESCAP-type resist with enhanced etch resistance and its application to future DRAM and logic devices", Proc. SPIE 3049, Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XIV, (7 July 1997); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.275830

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