Depth-of-focus (DOF) and line-width roughness (LWR) performance of novel surface conditioner solutions for immersion lithography

Bo Jou Lu; Yongfa Huang; H. T. Tseng; Chun Chi Yu; Ling-Jen Meng; Ming-Chi Liao; Michale Legenza

doi:10.1117/12.711938

6 April 2007 Depth-of-focus (DOF) and line-width roughness (LWR) performance of novel surface conditioner solutions for immersion lithography

Bo Jou Lu, Yongfa Huang, H. T. Tseng, Chun Chi Yu, Ling-Jen Meng, Ming-Chi Liao, Michale Legenza

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6519, Advances in Resist Materials and Processing Technology XXIV; 651942 (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.711938
Event: SPIE Advanced Lithography, 2007, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

As lithographic technology goes beyond the 45nm node, depth of focus (DOF) and line width roughness (LWR) for poly gates have become critical parameters. There is a growing interest in applying surface conditioner solutions during the post-develop process to increase DOF and reduce LWR. Surface conditioners interact with resist sidewall selectively, causing surface plasticization effect and smoothing the sidewall profile. As a result, the LWR can be reduced and the poor pattern profile located in the focus marginal area due to poor image contrast will be improved so that the depth of focus (DOF) can be increased significantly. In this paper, the features of lines/spaces patterned for the 45nm node by immersion lithography were used to evaluate surface conditioner performance with regards to DOF increase and LWR reduction. The results demonstrate there is about 1.5 nm LWR reduction, as well as a significant improvement on the process window for DOF, for which there is 37.5% increase for ISO poly gates and 36% increase for DENSE poly gates. No negative impact on the effect of optical proximity correction (OPC) and resist profile were observed with the new process. In addition, etch testing was conducted to determine how much post-develop LER reduction has been retained through etch by comparing post-etch and post-develop LER for both baseline and surface conditioner processes.

Citation Download Citation

Bo Jou Lu, Yongfa Huang, H. T. Tseng, Chun Chi Yu, Ling-Jen Meng, Ming-Chi Liao, and Michale Legenza "Depth-of-focus (DOF) and line-width roughness (LWR) performance of novel surface conditioner solutions for immersion lithography", Proc. SPIE 6519, Advances in Resist Materials and Processing Technology XXIV, 651942 (6 April 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.711938

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
11 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Line width roughness

Etching

Photoresist processing

Optical proximity correction

Image processing

Semiconducting wafers

Immersion lithography

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years