Mr. Takahiro Kitano Profile

Takahiro Kitano

Director at Tokyo Electron Ltd

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Publications (36)

Proceedings Article | 10 April 2024 Poster

Poster

Coater/developer-based patterning techniques to improve tight pitches towards high-NA EUV

Kanzo Kato, Lior Huli, Steven Grzeskowiak, Alexandra Krawicz, Eric Liu, Akiteru Ko, Satoru Shimura, Shinichiro Kawakami, Cong Dinh, Takahiro Kitano, Seiji Nagahara, Luciana Meli, Indira Seshadri, Martin Burkhardt, Karen Petrillo

Proceedings Volume PC12953, PC129530Y (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3010880

KEYWORDS: Yield improvement, Optical lithography, Extreme ultraviolet, Extreme ultraviolet lithography, Etching, Lithography, Tin, Semiconductors, Integrated circuits, Inspection

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Proceedings Article | 28 November 2023 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

Coater/developer-based patterning techniques to achieve tight pitches with 0.33 NA single exposure

Kanzo Kato, Seiji Nagahara, Lior Huli, Nathan Antonovich, David Hetzer, Steven Grzeskowiak, Alexandra Krawicz, Eric Liu, Nayoung Bae, Akiteru Ko, Satoru Shimura, Shinichiro Kawakami, Dinh Conque, Takahiro Kitano, Luciana Meli, Indira Seshadri, Martin Burkhardt, Karen Petrillo

Proceedings Volume PC12750, PC127500G (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2687901

KEYWORDS: Optical lithography, Extreme ultraviolet lithography, Lithography, Semiconductors, Integrated circuits, Industry, Fiber optic illuminators, Fabrication, Etching

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Proceedings Article | 1 May 2023 Poster + Paper

Poster + Paper

Coater/developer-based techniques to achieve tight pitches towards high-NA EUV

Kanzo Kato, Lior Huli, Nathan Antonovich, David Hetzer, Steven Grzeskowiak, Eric Liu, Akiteru Ko, Satoru Shimura, Shinichiro Kawakami, Takahiro Kitano, Seiji Nagahara, Luciana Meli, Indira Seshadri, Martin Burkhardt, Karen Petrillo

Proceedings Volume 12498, 1249821 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2657290

KEYWORDS: Extreme ultraviolet, Extreme ultraviolet lithography, Light sources and illumination, Etching, Coating thickness, Optical lithography, Printing, Lithography

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Proceedings Article | 1 May 2023 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

Pattern fidelity improvement of DSA hole patterns

Makoto Muramatsu, Takanori Nishi, Kiyohito Ito, Yoshihito Takahashi, Yasunori Hatamura, Takahiro Kitano, Tomohiro Iwaki

Proceedings Volume 12497, 124970J (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2658245

KEYWORDS: Block copolymers, Directed self assembly, Polymethylmethacrylate

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Directed Self-Assembly (DSA) has been reported many times in the past decade as a technique for forming fine patterns^{1- 12}. As processes for application to the semiconductor process, the grapho-epitaxy process forms a desired pattern in an isolated area using a physical guide, and the chemical-epitaxy process forms a single pitch over a wide range using a chemical guide are typical. There are many reports regarding the line pattern formation using a lamellar phase to meet the demand for miniaturization from the mass production of semiconductors, and this is partly because the lamellar phase is relatively stable. However, for fine line pattern formation, multiplication techniques such as SADP (self-aligned double patterning) and SAQP (self-aligned quadruple patterning) have matured, and in recent years, the number of cases where EUV (extreme ultra-violet) single exposure is used is increasing. For this reason, DSA is rarely used in mass production of semiconductors. On the other hand, when miniaturizing high-density hole patterns, methods such as multiple exposure and etching, and methods of forming holes by crossing line patterns formed by SADP are relatively expensive. In addition, it is difficult to maintain the uniformity of hole CD (critical dimension) and pitch. In addition, when EUV is applied, it is not easy to suppress defects and form a wide range of patterns due to stochasticity, which has become a problem in recent years. Therefore, the formation of high-density hole patterns using DSA is attracting attention. In DSA, the hole diameter can be controlled by the molecular weight of BCP (block co-polymer), and the pitch tends to be uniform spontaneously. Also, if the chemical-epitaxy process is used, the pattern can be formed over a wide range. However, hole patterns using a cylinder phase tend to have large fluctuations in hole diameter and placement due to the high degree of freedom in placement. It is also important to what extent the established process can be extended to further miniaturization. In this presentation, we report on the hole pattern formation method by the chemo-epitaxy method and efforts to improve the fidelity for application to the semiconductor process.

Proceedings Article | 31 October 2022 Poster

Poster

Coater/developer-based techniques to improve high-resolution EUV patterning

Kanzo Kato, Lior Huli, David Hetzer, Steven Grzeskowiak, Alexandra Krawicz, Nayoung Bae, Satoru Shimura, Shinichiro Kawakami, Yuhei Kuwahara, Cong Que Dinh, Soichiro Okada, Takahiro Kitano, Seiji Nagahara, Akihiro Sonoda

Proceedings Volume PC12292, PC122920Q (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2642878

KEYWORDS: Extreme ultraviolet, Optical lithography, Lithography, Extreme ultraviolet lithography, Semiconductors, Oxides, Metals, Integrated circuits, Industrial chemicals, Etching

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Proceedings Article | 13 June 2022 Poster

Poster

Coater/developer based techniques to achieve sub-30nm CAR process on EUV stack

Kanzo Kato, Lior Huli, Dave Hetzer, Satoru Shimura, Shinichiro Kawakami, Soichiro Okada, Takahiro Kitano, Akihiro Sonoda, Karen Petrillo, Luciana Meli, Cody Murray, Alex Hubbard

Proceedings Volume PC12055, PC120550L (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2613805

KEYWORDS: Extreme ultraviolet, Lithography, Extreme ultraviolet lithography, Photoresist processing, Optical lithography, Integrated circuits, Etching

Proceedings Article | 25 May 2022 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

Hexagonal arrays of contact holes with chemo-epitaxial DSA

Makoto Muramatsu, Takanori Nishi, Kiyohito Ito, Yoshihito Takahashi, Yasunori Hatamura, Takahiro Kitano

Proceedings Volume 12054, 1205402 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2623089

KEYWORDS: Etching, Polymethylmethacrylate, Lithography, Directed self assembly, Reactive ion etching, Polymers

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Proceedings Article | 28 September 2021 Poster + Presentation

Poster + Presentation

Coater/developer and new underlayer application to sub-30nm process

Kanzo Kato, Naoki Shibata, Lior Huli, Dave Hetzer, Angélique Raley, Christopher Cole, Alexandra Krawicz, Satoru Shimura, Shinichiro Kawakami, Soichiro Okada, Takahiro Kitano, Akihiro Sonoda, Karen Petrillo, Luciana Meli, Cody Murray, Alex Hubbard

Proceedings Volume 11854, 118541D (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2602829

KEYWORDS: Optical lithography, Extreme ultraviolet, Photoresist processing, Oxides, Metals, Lithography, Integrated circuits, Extreme ultraviolet lithography, Etching

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Proceedings Article | 22 February 2021 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

Self-aligned double pattern process using DSA pattern

Makoto Muramatsu, Takanori Nishi, Yasuyuki Ido, Takahiro Kitano

Proceedings Volume 11612, 116120N (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2583668

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Proceedings Article | 22 February 2021 Presentation

Presentation

DSA process optimization for high volume manufacturing

Makoto Muramatsu, Takanori Nishi, Yasuyuki Ido, Takahiro Kitano

Proceedings Volume 11610, 116100N (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2584946

KEYWORDS: Directed self assembly, High volume manufacturing, Line edge roughness, Polymers, Molecular self-assembly, Lithography

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Proceedings Article | 23 March 2020 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

Defect mitigation of chemo-epitaxy DSA patterns

Makoto Muramatsu, Takanori Nishi, Yasuyuki Ido, Takahiro Kitano

Proceedings Volume 11326, 113260Y (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2551996

KEYWORDS: Directed self assembly

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Proceedings Article | 25 March 2019 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

Pattern defect reduction for chemo-epitaxy DSA process

Makoto Muramatsu, Takanori Nishi, Gen You, Yasuyuki Ido, Takahiro Kitano

Proceedings Volume 10960, 109600W (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2514671

KEYWORDS: Etching, System on a chip, Picosecond phenomena, Directed self assembly, Defect detection, Polymethylmethacrylate, Bridges, Stochastic processes, Extreme ultraviolet lithography, Semiconducting wafers

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Proceedings Article | 19 March 2018 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

Defect and roughness reduction of chemo-epitaxy DSA pattern

Makoto Muramatsu, Takanori Nishi, Gen You, Yasuyuki Ido, Takahiro Kitano

Proceedings Volume 10584, 105840M (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2297185

KEYWORDS: Line edge roughness, Polymers, Directed self assembly, Lithography, Bridges, Photoresist processing, Polymethylmethacrylate

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Proceedings Article | 21 March 2017 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

Pattern defect reduction and LER improvement of chemo-epitaxy DSA process

Makoto Muramatsu, Takanori Nishi, Gen You, Yusuke Saito, Yasuyuki Ido, Noriaki Oikawa, Toshikatsu Tobana, Kiyohito Ito, Shinya Morikita, Takahiro Kitano

Proceedings Volume 10144, 101440Q (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2257952

KEYWORDS: Line edge roughness, Bridges, Etching, Lithography, Picosecond phenomena, Polymethylmethacrylate, Epitaxy, Chemical reactions, Computer simulations, High volume manufacturing, Directed self assembly, Photoresist processing, Image processing, Scanning electron microscopy, Line width roughness

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Proceedings Article | 1 April 2016 Paper

Paper

Numerical placement analysis in hole multiplication patterns for directed self-assembly

K. Yamamoto, T. Nakano, M. Muramatsu, H. Genjima, T. Tomita, K. Matsuzaki, T. Kitano

Proceedings Volume 9777, 97771Q (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2218596

KEYWORDS: Directed self assembly, Lithography, Numerical analysis, Critical dimension metrology, Polymethylmethacrylate, Double patterning technology, Picosecond phenomena, Error analysis, Polymers, Computer simulations, Optical lithography

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Proceedings Article | 22 March 2016 Paper

Paper

Pattern fidelity improvement of chemo-epitaxy DSA process for high-volume manufacturing

Makoto Muramatsu, Takanori Nishi, Gen You, Yusuke Saito, Yasuyuki Ido, Kiyohito Ito, Toshikatsu Tobana, Masanori Hosoya, Weichien Chen, Satoru Nakamura, Mark Somervell, Takahiro Kitano

Proceedings Volume 9777, 97770F (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2218595

KEYWORDS: Directed self assembly, Line edge roughness, High volume manufacturing, Bridges, Critical dimension metrology, Semiconductor manufacturing, Particles, Etching, Lithography, Oxides, Semiconducting wafers, Line width roughness, System on a chip, Optical lithography, Picosecond phenomena

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Proceedings Article | 22 March 2016 Paper

Paper

DSA materials contributions to the defectivity performance of 14nm half-pitch LiNe flow at IMEC

Hari Pathangi, Varun Vaid, Boon Teik Chan, Nadia Vandenbroeck, Jin Li, Sung Eun Hong, Yi Cao, Baskaran Durairaj, Guanyang Lin, Mark Somervell, Takahiro Kitano, Ryota Harukawa, Kaushik Sah, Andrew Cross, Hareen Bayana, Lucia D’Urzo, Roel Gronheid

Proceedings Volume 9777, 97770G (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2219936

KEYWORDS: Directed self assembly, Metrology, Optical lithography, Silicon, Semiconducting wafers, Etching, Bridges, Polymers, Manufacturing, Scanning electron microscopy, Epitaxy, Lithography, Thin film coatings

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Proceedings Article | 20 March 2015 Paper

Paper

Driving DSA into volume manufacturing

Mark Somervell, Takashi Yamauchi, Soichiro Okada, Tadatoshi Tomita, Takanori Nishi, Shinichiro Kawakami, Makoto Muramatsu, Etsuo Iijima, Vinayak Rastogi, Takeo Nakano, Fumiko Iwao, Seiji Nagahara, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Makiko Dojun, Koichi Yatsuda, Toshikatsu Tobana, Ainhoa Romo Negreira, Doni Parnell, Benjamen Rathsack, Kathleen Nafus, Jean-Luc Peyre, Takahiro Kitano

Proceedings Volume 9425, 94250Q (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2085776

KEYWORDS: Etching, Semiconducting wafers, Optical lithography, Polymethylmethacrylate, Line edge roughness, Manufacturing, Image processing, Ecosystems, Line width roughness, Directed self assembly

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Proceedings Article | 19 March 2015 Paper

Paper

Computational analysis of hole placement errors for directed self-assembly

K. Yamamoto, T. Nakano, M. Muramatsu, T. Tomita, K. Matsuzaki, T. Kitano

Proceedings Volume 9423, 94231X (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2085084

KEYWORDS: Particles, Tolerancing, Polymethylmethacrylate, Critical dimension metrology, Error analysis, Data acquisition, Polymers, Computer simulations, Picosecond phenomena, Directed self assembly

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Proceedings Article | 2 April 2014 Paper

Paper

Defect analysis methodology for contact hole grapho epitaxy DSA

Ryota Harukawa, Masami Aoki, Andrew Cross, Venkat Nagaswami, Shinichiro Kawakami, Takashi Yamauchi, Tadatoshi Tomita, Seiji Nagahara, Makoto Muramatsu, Takahiro Kitano

Proceedings Volume 9050, 905027 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2046051

KEYWORDS: Inspection, Wafer-level optics, Scanning electron microscopy, Wafer inspection, Defect detection, Semiconducting wafers, Optical lithography, Epitaxy, Defect inspection, Directed self assembly

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Proceedings Article | 2 April 2014 Paper

Paper

New robust edge detection methodology for qualifying DSA characteristics by using CD SEM

Satoru Yamaguchi, Kazuhiro Ueda, Takeshi Kato, Norio Hasegawa, Takashi Yamauchi, Shinichiro Kawakami, Makoto Muramatsu, Seiji Nagahara, Takahiro Kitano

Proceedings Volume 9050, 905029 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2046136

KEYWORDS: Edge detection, Scanning electron microscopy, Thin films, Error analysis, Critical dimension metrology, Metrology, Edge roughness, Polymer thin films, Signal detection, Directed self assembly

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Proceedings Article | 28 March 2014 Paper

Paper

Simulation analysis of directed self-assembly for hole multiplication in guide pattern

M. Muramatsu, T. Nakano, T. Tomita, K. Yamamoto, K. Matsuzaki, T. Kitano

Proceedings Volume 9049, 904921 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2045865

KEYWORDS: Polymethylmethacrylate, Picosecond phenomena, 3D modeling, Particles, Scanning transmission electron microscopy, Photomasks, Monte Carlo methods, Scanning electron microscopy, Lithography, Directed self assembly

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Proceedings Article | 27 March 2014 Paper

Paper

High-volume manufacturing equipment and processing for directed self-assembly applications

Mark Somervell, Takashi Yamauchi, Soichiro Okada, Tadatoshi Tomita, Takanori Nishi, Etsuo Iijima, Takeo Nakano, Takumi Ishiguro, Seiji Nagahara, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Makiko Dojun, Mariko Ozawa, Koichi Yatsuda, Toshikatsu Tobana, Ainhoa Romo Negreira, Doni Parnell, Shinchiro Kawakami, Makoto Muramatsu, Benjamen Rathsack, Kathleen Nafus, Jean-Luc Peyre, Takahiro Kitano

Proceedings Volume 9051, 90510N (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2045975

KEYWORDS: Semiconducting wafers, Etching, Polymethylmethacrylate, Thin film coatings, High volume manufacturing, Ecosystems, Lithography, Manufacturing, Manufacturing equipment, Directed self assembly

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SPIE Journal Paper | 12 August 2013 Open Access

Open Access

Contact hole shrink process using graphoepitaxial directed self-assembly lithography

Yuriko Seino, Hiroki Yonemitsu, Hironobu Sato, Masahiro Kanno, Hirokazu Kato, Katsutoshi Kobayashi, Ayako Kawanishi, Tsukasa Azuma, Makoto Muramatsu, Seiji Nagahara, Takahiro Kitano, Takayuki Toshima

JM3, Vol. 12, Issue 03, 033011, (August 2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JMM.12.3.033011

KEYWORDS: Critical dimension metrology, Semiconducting wafers, Lithography, Polymethylmethacrylate, System on a chip, Semiconductor manufacturing, Tolerancing, Optical lithography, Picosecond phenomena, Directed self assembly

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Proceedings Article | 18 April 2013 Paper

Paper

DSA hole defectivity analysis using advanced optical inspection tool

Ryota Harukawa, Masami Aoki, Andrew Cross, Venkat Nagaswami, Tadatoshi Tomita, Seiji Nagahara, Makoto Muramatsu, Shinichiro Kawakami, Hitoshi Kosugi, Benjamen Rathsack, Takahiro Kitano, Jason Sweis, Ali Mokhberi

Proceedings Volume 8681, 86811A (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2011177

KEYWORDS: Inspection, Semiconducting wafers, Wafer inspection, Reticles, Wafer-level optics, Epitaxy, Optical inspection, Defect inspection, Optical lithography, Directed self assembly

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Proceedings Article | 29 March 2013 Paper

Paper

Advances in directed self assembly integration and manufacturability at 300 mm

Benjamen Rathsack, Mark Somervell, Makato Muramatsu, Keiji Tanouchi, Takahiro Kitano, Eiichi Nishimura, Koichi Yatsuda, Seiji Nagahara, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Keiji Akai, Mariko Ozawa, Ainhoa Romo Negreira, Shigeru Tahara, Kathleen Nafus

Proceedings Volume 8682, 86820K (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2012018

KEYWORDS: Etching, Polymethylmethacrylate, Manufacturing, Picosecond phenomena, Ecosystems, Semiconducting wafers, Inspection, Directed self assembly, Materials processing, Polymers

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Proceedings Article | 26 March 2013 Paper

Paper

Dissipative particle dynamics study on directed self-assembly in holes

T. Nakano, M. Matsukuma, K. Matsuzaki, M. Muramatsu, T. Tomita, T. Kitano

Proceedings Volume 8680, 86801J (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2011069

KEYWORDS: Polymers, Particles, Monte Carlo methods, Computer simulations, Polymethylmethacrylate, Lithography, Fabrication, Semiconductors, Nanolithography, Directed self assembly

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SPIE Journal Paper | 9 July 2012

Nanopatterning of diblock copolymer directed self-assembly lithography with wet development

Makoto Muramatsu, Mitsuaki Iwashita, Takahiro Kitano, Takayuki Toshima, Mark Somervell, Yuriko Seino, Daisuke Kawamura, Masahiro Kanno, Katsutoshi Kobayashi, Tsukasa Azuma

JM3, Vol. 11, Issue 3, 031305, (July 2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JMM.11.3.031305

KEYWORDS: Polymethylmethacrylate, Picosecond phenomena, Ultraviolet radiation, Lithography, Mercury, Nanostructures, Oxygen, Lamps, Scanning electron microscopy, Directed self assembly

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Proceedings Article | 21 March 2012 Paper

Paper

Contact hole shrink process using directed self-assembly

Yuriko Seino, Hiroki Yonemitsu, Hironobu Sato, Masahiro Kanno, Hikazu Kato, Katsutoshi Kobayashi, Ayako Kawanishi, Tsukasa Azuma, Makoto Muramatsu, Seiji Nagahara, Takahiro Kitano, Takayuki Toshima

Proceedings Volume 8323, 83230Y (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.915652

KEYWORDS: Deep ultraviolet, Polymethylmethacrylate, Photoresist developing, Picosecond phenomena, Photoresist materials, Scanning electron microscopy, Lithography, System on a chip, Photomicroscopy, Directed self assembly

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Proceedings Article | 21 March 2012 Paper

Paper

Pattern scaling with directed self assembly through lithography and etch process integration

Benjamen Rathsack, Mark Somervell, Josh Hooge, Makoto Muramatsu, Keiji Tanouchi, Takahiro Kitano, Eiichi Nishimura, Koichi Yatsuda, Seiji Nagahara, Iwaki Hiroyuki, Keiji Akai, Takashi Hayakawa

Proceedings Volume 8323, 83230B (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.916311

KEYWORDS: Etching, Semiconducting wafers, Line edge roughness, Picosecond phenomena, Lithography, Polymers, Polymethylmethacrylate, Chemical analysis, Silicon, Directed self assembly

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Proceedings Article | 4 April 2011 Paper

Paper

Nanopatterning of diblock copolymer directed self-assembly lithography with wet development

Makoto Muramatsu, Mitsuaki Iwashita, Takahiro Kitano, Takayuki Toshima, Yuriko Seino, Daisuke Kawamura, Masahiro Kanno, Katsutoshi Kobayashi, Tsukasa Azuma

Proceedings Volume 7970, 79701F (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.878931

KEYWORDS: Picosecond phenomena, Polymethylmethacrylate, Ultraviolet radiation, Lithography, Lamps, Mercury, Scanning electron microscopy, Oxygen, Photography, Directed self assembly

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Proceedings Article | 1 April 2009 Paper

Paper

Productivity improvement in the wafer backside cleaning before exposure

S. Nishikido, T. Kitano, Y. Tokunaga, Marlene Strobl, Yu Chen Lin

Proceedings Volume 7273, 72730V (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.814021

KEYWORDS: Semiconducting wafers, Particles, Optical lithography, Contamination, Inspection, Defect detection, Current controlled current source, Manufacturing, Coating, Sensors

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Proceedings Article | 1 April 2009 Paper

Paper

Feasibility studies of coating method for planarization process

Kentaro Matsunaga, Tomoya Oori, Hirokazu Kato, Eishi Shiobara, Makoto Muramatsu, Mitsuaki Iwashita, Takahiro Kitano, Yusuke Horiguchi, Tomoya Ohashi, Satoshi Takei, Shinichi Ito

Proceedings Volume 7273, 72734E (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.813647

KEYWORDS: Ultraviolet radiation, Coating, Lithography, Materials processing, Atomic force microscopy, Critical dimension metrology, Semiconducting wafers, Photoresist processing, Polymers, Scanning transmission electron microscopy

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Proceedings Article | 14 May 2004 Paper

Paper

Evaluation of resist-film property by scan and spin coating

Hiroshi Shinya, Takayuki Ishii, Yukihiro Wakamoto, Shinichi Sugimoto, Takahiro Kitano

Proceedings Volume 5376, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.534738

KEYWORDS: Coating, Thin film coatings, Semiconducting wafers, Thin films, Line edge roughness, Electroluminescence, Liquids, Optical lithography, Photoresist processing, Solids

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It is vital to control Critical Dimension (CD) within a wafer and pattern profile in photolithography process. We have previously reported our evaluation results with chemically amplified resists that one of the causes of pattern profile fluctuation is a change in resist film composition before exposure such as non-uniform distributions of additives (photo-acid generator (PAG), quencher) concentration and casting solvent etc.; and thus resist film property control is essential to suppress these factors [1]. This is also true for thin resist film in finer line process and with top surface imaging. In the same paper [1], we have reported that a straightforward method to understand a change in film property is to check the amount of thickness loss by developing unexposed film after post apply bake (PAB). This method can be applied to thin film as well. We created unexposed films with the thickness range of 50-900nm by changing the total solid content (TSC) in resist and spin speed at resist coating. The amount of thickness loss significantly increased with sub-200nm thickness; the film property of which was quite different from that of 200nm-or-over thickness. Moreover, pattern line edge roughness (LER) as well as pattern surface roughness was prominent with 100nm-thick film even when we used a resist which has an ability to create good patterns on film with a thickness of 400nm. This is because the film quality diminishes in bulk below a certain thickness, while the property on the surface or interface layer predominates. Then we studied Scan coating to control thin film property. In Spin coating, chemical liquid dispensed on static wafer is spread by spinning the wafer and solvent is evaporated to form a film. On the other hand, in Scan coating, wafer remains static even after chemical liquid is dispensed and the wafer is dried under reduced pressure [2]-[7]; which means the thinner evaporation rate is slower than that in Spin coating and film property control may be easier. We, therefore, expect that Scan coating is a possible method to control CD and pattern profile. In this study, we compared the process performance and film property of KrF resist films by Scan and Spin coatings and examined the film composition control.

Proceedings Article | 1 August 2002 Paper

Paper

Model of coating and drying process for flat polymer film fabrication

Hiroyuki Kagami, Ryuji Miyagawa, Atsushi Kawata, Daisuke Nakashima, Shinji Kobayashi, Takahiro Kitano, Kazuhiro Takeshita, Hiroshi Kubota, Tadahiro Ohmi

Proceedings Volume 4754, (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.476948

KEYWORDS: Diffusion, Molecules, Liquids, Polymers, Polymer thin films, Coating, Thin films, Electrochemical etching, Photoresist processing, Dielectrics

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Proceedings Article | 24 July 2002 Paper

Paper

Evaluation of resist-film property for CD control

Hiroshi Shinya, Takahiro Kitano, Hidefumi Matsui, Junichi Kitano

Proceedings Volume 4690, (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.474269

KEYWORDS: Critical dimension metrology, Semiconducting wafers, Polymers, Photoresist processing, Coating, Optical lithography, Liquids, Quantitative analysis, Solids, Chemically amplified resists

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Showing 5 of 36 publications

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