Evaluation of EUV resist performance below 20nm CD using helium ion lithography
conference paper
For the introduction of EUV lithography, development of high performance EUV resists is of key importance. This development involves studies into resist sensitivity, resolving power and pattern uniformity. We have used a sub-nanometer-sized 30 keV helium ion beam to expose chemically amplified (CAR) EUV resists. There are similarities in the response of resists to He+ ions and EUV photons: both excite Secondary Electrons with similar energy distributions. The weak backscattering of the He+ ions results in ultra-low proximity effects. This fact enables the exposure of dense and detailed patterns by focused He+ ion beams without the need for proximity correction. This paper presents contact holes and lines at 40-nm pitch in an EUV CAR resist. We have used resist sensitivity, contrast, resolution (CD) and pattern fidelity (LCDU, LWR and dose-to-print) as metrics for a comparison of SHIBL with EUVL. We show that Scanning Helium Ion Beam Lithography (SHIBL) can be a useful and economically attractive technology to (pre-)screen novel EUV resists prior to their final performance evaluation in an EUV scanner. © 2014 SPIE.
Topics
TNO Identifier
507110
ISSN
1996756X
ISBN
9780819499714
Publisher
SPIE
Article nr.
90482Z
Source title
Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Lithography V, 24-27 February 2014, San Jose, CA, USA
Collation
9 p.