In the past few decades, leading edge logic technology scaling has been the main driver for semiconductor metrology developments. As traditional device scaling is slowing down, the semiconductor industry is focusing also on heterogeneous integration approaches, which leverage advanced packaging technologies to integrate devices designed and manufactured separately using the most suitable process technology for each device. Heterogeneous integration presents significant metrology challenges, which are different from what is encountered at the logic device level in terms of materials and specifically dimensions. Large-scale 3D structures need to be characterized with unprecedented accuracies and advanced optical techniques play a pivotal role. In this paper, some metrology challenges in heterogeneous integration are introduced and discussed related to TSV characterization including depth and reveal height, wafer bonding measurements, and dimensional and overlay metrology for processing leading to bump receivers and bump formation. Current capabilities utilizing various imaging and interferometry techniques are presented and their limitations discussed.
3-dimensional chiplet device architectures are expected to provide improved device performance, efficiency, and footprint beyond what is capable with 2-dimensional scaling technologies. Thick resist lithography of damascene and plating resists, as well as organic dielectric materials, plays a critical role in chiplet integration. However, thick resist lithography requires viscous resist solutions, specialized tooling, and long processing times. This makes patterning using these resists inherently prone to uniformity issues, which has become a crucial issue for scaling. This work highlights two strategic areas of thick resist patterning development: improved resist coating methods; and enhanced focus control during exposure. Herein, we show a track-based method for carefully controlled uniformity of the resist coating thickness, with some sacrifice of through-put. In addition, we show stepper-based focus methods to account for die level variations in resist and wafer thickness, as well as local topography. Combined, these provide precise cross-wafer control of thick resist dimensions.
KEYWORDS: Polymers, Sodium, Diffusion, Chemistry, Polymer thin films, Film thickness, Photoacid generators, Data modeling, Chemically amplified resists, Chemical species
BackgroundA fundamental understanding of the physical processes controlling deprotection in chemical amplified resists (CARs) is critical to improve their utility for high-resolution lithography.Aim/ApproachWe employ a combined experimental and computational approach to examine the impacts of excess free volume generation, reaction byproducts, catalyst clustering, and catalyst counter-anion chemistry/size on deprotection rates in a model terpolymer CAR.ResultsThese studies demonstrate that catalyst diffusion can be enhanced by a combination of excess free volume and reaction byproducts, and that differences in the rotational mobility of the catalyst (controlled by counter-anion chemistry/size) play a key role in local reaction rates.ConclusionsOur results highlight that while many top-down models may capture experimental deprotection kinetics in chemically amplified resists, these models may not capture the underlying physics of the system. This further supports the necessity of incorporating experimental or atomistic data in the development of such models and in their extension to models of lithography.
Fundamental understanding of the physical processes controlling deprotection in chemical amplified resists (CARs) is critical to improve their utility for high-resolution lithography. We employ a combined experimental and computational method to examine the impacts of excess free volume generation, reaction byproducts, catalyst clustering, and catalyst counter-anion chemistry/size on deprotection rates in a model terpolymer CAR. These studies suggest that catalyst diffusion can be enhanced by a combination of excess free volume and reaction byproducts, and that counter-anion chemistry/size plays a key role in local reaction rates, which stems from differences in the rotational mobility of the catalyst.
In chemically amplified resists (CARs), it is known that catalyst diffusion is accelerated by the deprotection reaction. However, the mechanisms that drive this enhancement are not yet known as it is difficult to probe local changes in polymer chemistry and density during the reaction, as well as their effects on catalyst diffusion, through experiments alone. We examine catalyst diffusion in a model terpolymer CAR, both in the presence and absence of reaction, using a combination of experiments and atomistic simulations. From experiments, we find that deprotection rates are faster than film densification, and that reaction enhances long-time catalyst diffusion lengths by a factor of four. From simulations, we find evidence that catalyst mobility is enhanced in recently reacted regions of the terpolymer. These results provide insight into the origins of accelerated catalyst diffusion during reaction, and will be utilized in the development of physics-informed models of CAR systems.
Catalyst diffusion is a critical component of the pattern formation process in chemically amplified resists (CARs). In this study, we used a concerted experimental and modeling effort to examine diffusion of an inert catalyst analogue (sodium triflate) in a hydroxystyrene-based ESCAP terpolymer resin. First, atomistic simulations at high temperatures reveal an order-of-magnitude enhancement of the Fickian diffusivity in the protected reactant versus the fully deprotected product, while time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) measurements at temperatures near the glass transition show no appreciable differences. The data from simulations and experiments conform to a unified curve, enabling estimates of the Fickian diffusivity at relevant post-exposure bake (PEB) temperatures through extrapolation. Second, acid-catalyzed reaction kinetics were measured with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and compared with reaction-diffusion models based on the estimated Fickian diffusivities. The initial kinetics in experiments is orders-of-magnitude faster than predictions, demonstrating that models of catalyst transport should capture effects beyond Fickian diffusion. Finally, the simulations examined ion-ion and polymer-ion interactions at the atomistic level, features that are difficult to probe by experimental investigations. These data show that ion pair clustering in the protected and deprotected materials is similar as temperature is reduced, and ion pair dynamics in both materials is dominated by interactions with hydroxystyrene repeat units. These trends explain the experimental observations that ion diffusion is similar in the protected and deprotected polymers.
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