AVS 45th International Symposium
    Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Division Thursday Sessions
       Session NS-ThM

Paper NS-ThM5
Materials Considerations for Optical Lithography at the Nanometer Scale

Thursday, November 5, 1998, 9:40 am, Room 321/322/323

Session: Nanoscale Patterning and Modification
Presenter: F.A. Houle, IBM Almaden Research Center
Authors: F.A. Houle, IBM Almaden Research Center
W.D. Hinsberg, IBM Almaden Research Center
M.I. Sanchez, IBM Almaden Research Center
J. Hoffnagle, IBM Almaden Research Center
M. Morrison, IBM Almaden Research Center
C. Nguyen, IBM Almaden Research Center
Correspondent: Click to Email
The extendability of polymeric photoresist systems to the fabrication of nanostructures is a critical issue for both conventional microelectronics and for new device concepts. We have developed techniques using deep-UV interferometric lithography to evaluate quantitatively the relationship between polymer properties and reactivity and structure formation, with a particular focus on chemically amplified resist systems. Extended grating structures ranging from 50 to 500 nm linewidth and millimeters of line length are readily produced using 257 nm light, enabling systematic studies of the scaling of both chemical and physical phenomena. The apparatus and experimental methods will be described. We will present data using real-time spectroscopy and AFM analyses that probe the role of acid diffusion and aerial image definition in determining dimensional control and line-edge roughness at the nanometer scale. Implications of the data for x-ray and electron-beam resists will be discussed.