New Developments in Resist Materials for the SCALPEL Technology

• Published in: Journal of Photopolymer Science and Technology 1998, Vol.11(3), pp.541-545
• Main Authors: Novembre, Anthony E., Ocola, Leonidas E., Houlihan, Frank, Knurek, Chester, Blakey, Myrtle
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acid catalyzed deprotection; chemically amplified resists; electron beam; SCALPEL
• ISSN: 0914-9244; 1349-6336
• DOI: 10.2494/photopolymer.11.541

A series of commercially viable positive and negative acting chemically amplified resists developed for 193nm and 248nm lithographies have been investigated for use in the SCALPEL technology. The investigation focused on determining the compatibility of these materials to the operating conditions and writing strategy of the exposure tool. The resist systems investigated included the deep-UV positive acting chemically amplified resist ARCH produced by Olin Microelectronics Materials (OMM), the negative acting material NEB 22A made available by Sumitomo and a 193nm sensitive positive tone system being developed by Lucent and OMM. The extent to which these materials exhibited volatilization in the tool during exposure determined there compatibility. Those materials characterized by having a high activation energy for the acid catalyzed deprotection process and use of acid molecules which are stable at temperatures in the 40-50°C range were viewed as compatible with the SCALPEL exposure system. For the resists investigated the sensitivity @100KV ranged from 10-30μC/cm2. 80-100nm line and space pattern resolution was routinely observed and process latitude in excess of 20% for features _??_0.20μm was measured.