Investigation of 193-nm resist and plasma interactions during an oxide etching process

Benedicte P. Mortini; Philippe Spinelli; Francois Leverd; Veronique Dejonghe; Richard Braspenning

doi:10.1117/12.485128

12 June 2003 Investigation of 193-nm resist and plasma interactions during an oxide etching process

Benedicte P. Mortini, Philippe Spinelli, Francois Leverd, Veronique Dejonghe, Richard Braspenning

Proceedings Volume 5039, Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XX; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.485128
Event: Microlithography 2003, 2003, Santa Clara, California, United States

Abstract

193 nm chemically amplified resists currently meet the lithographic targets for the 130 nm and 90 nm nodes. However, the integration of such 193 nm materials is still an issue due to lack of etch resistance of 193 nm resist chemistries. Indeed, depending on the etch conditions (etch chemistry, power, temperature, etc.) 193 nm resist pattern degradations can be observed such as strong surface roughness, pinholes or even a loss of mechanical stability. In this work, the interactions between an oxide etch plasma and different 193 nm Methacrylate based contact hole resists have been investigated for the 130 nm node. All the resists belong to the Fujitsu platform, with various activation energies for their protecting groups. As a result, it has been observed that depending on the resist, a partial or complete loss of the carbonyl groups can take place during the oxide etch step, leading to a loss of etch resistance and pattern stability. In addition, it has been shown that an uncontrolled deprotection reaction of such 193 nm resist film can induce some transient changes in their physico-chemical properties, such as a decrease of the resist glass transition temperature and flow temperature. Uncontrolled 193 nm resist deprotection leads to mechanical stress in the polymer film, inducing adhesion issues and bubble formation, as well as resist flow temperature decrease. As a conclusion, a stable and reliable photo-etch step involving a 193 nm resist should take into account the limitations introduced by possible plasma and resist interactions. This can be achieved by some etch recipe adjustments, such as the precise control of the cathode temperature during the etch step, as well as some 193 nm resist formulation optimization in order to avoid strong resist deprotection during the etch step.

Citation Download Citation

Benedicte P. Mortini, Philippe Spinelli, Francois Leverd, Veronique Dejonghe, and Richard Braspenning "Investigation of 193-nm resist and plasma interactions during an oxide etching process", Proc. SPIE 5039, Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XX, (12 June 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.485128

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