Reconstructing the three-dimensional latent image of extreme ultraviolet resists with resonant soft x-ray scattering

Guillaume Freychet; Isvar A. Cordova; Terry McAfee; Dinesh Kumar; Ronald J. Pandolfi; Chris Anderson; Scott D. Dhuey; Patrick Naulleau; Cheng Wang; Alexander Hexemer

doi:10.1117/1.JMM.18.2.024003

3 May 2019 Reconstructing the three-dimensional latent image of extreme ultraviolet resists with resonant soft x-ray scattering

Guillaume Freychet, Isvar A. Cordova, Terry McAfee, Dinesh Kumar, Ronald J. Pandolfi, Chris Anderson, Scott D. Dhuey, Patrick Naulleau, Cheng Wang, Alexander Hexemer

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Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS, Vol. 18, Issue 2, 024003 (May 2019). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMM.18.2.024003

Abstract

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is one of the most promising printing techniques for high-volume semiconductor manufacturing at the 14-nm half-pitch device node and beyond. However, key challenges around EUV photoresist materials, such as the exposure-dose sensitivity or the line-width roughness, continue to impede its full adoption into industrial nanofab facilities. Metrology tools are required to address these challenges by helping to assess the impact of the EUV materials’ properties and processing conditions along different steps of the nanofabrication process. We apply the resonant soft x-ray scattering (RSoXS) technique to gain insights into the structure of patterned EUV resists before the development step takes place. By using energies around the carbon K-edge to take advantage of small differences in chemistry, the electronic density contrast between the exposed and unexposed regions of the resists could be enhanced in order to image the patterns with subnanometer precision. Critical-dimension grazing-incidence small-angle x-ray scattering is then performed at energies where the contrast is maximized, enabling the reconstruction of the three-dimensional shape of the latent image. We demonstrate the potential of RSoXS to provide a high-resolution height-sensitive profile of patterned EUV resists, which will help in quantifying the evolution of critical features, such as the line-edge roughness, at a key step of the nanofabrication process.

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Guillaume Freychet, Isvar A. Cordova, Terry McAfee, Dinesh Kumar, Ronald J. Pandolfi, Chris Anderson, Scott D. Dhuey, Patrick Naulleau, Cheng Wang, and Alexander Hexemer "Reconstructing the three-dimensional latent image of extreme ultraviolet resists with resonant soft x-ray scattering," Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS 18(2), 024003 (3 May 2019). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMM.18.2.024003

Received: 20 December 2018; Accepted: 12 April 2019; Published: 3 May 2019

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