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Title: Chemical Modification Mechanisms in Hybrid Hafnium Oxo-methacrylate Nanocluster Photoresists for Extreme Ultraviolet Patterning

Journal Article · · Chemistry of Materials
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [3]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Univ. of Texas-Dallas, Richardson, TX (United States). Materials Science and Engineering Dept.
  2. Schrödinger Inc., San Diego, CA (United States)
  3. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source (ALS)
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The potential implementation of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography into next generation device processing is bringing urgency to identify resist materials that optimize EUV lithographic performance. Inorganic/organic hybrid nanoparticles or clusters constitute a promising new class of materials, with high EUV sensitivity from the core and tunable chemistry through the coordinating ligands. Development of a thorough mechanistic understanding of the solubility switching reactions in these materials is an essential first step toward their implementation in patterning applications but remains challenging due to the complexity of their structures, limitations in EUV sources, and lack of rigorous in situ characterization. Here, we report a mechanistic investigation of the solubility switching reactions in hybrid clusters comprising a small HfOx core capped with a methacrylic acid ligand shell (HfMAA). We show that EUV-induced reactions can be studied by performing in situ infrared (IR) spectroscopy of electron-irradiated films using a variable energy electron gun. Combining additional ex situ metrology, we track the chemical evolution of the material at each stage of a typical resist processing sequence. For instance, we find that a cross-linking reaction initiated by decarboxylation of the methacrylate ligands under electron irradiation constitutes the main solubility switching mechanism, although there are also chemical changes imparted by a typical post application bake (PAB) step alone. Lastly, synchrotron-based IR microspectroscopy measurements of EUV-irradiated HfMAA films enable a comparison of reactions induced by EUV vs electron beam irradiation of the same resist material, yielding important insight into the use of electron beam irradiation as an experimental model for EUV exposure.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22), Scientific User Facilities Division (SC-22.3 )
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1526538
Journal Information:
Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 30, Issue 17; ISSN 0897-4756
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 20 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (3)

Hybrid EUV Resists with Mixed Organic Shells: A Simple Preparation Method: Hybrid EUV Resists with Mixed Organic Shells: A Simple Preparation Method journal October 2019
Advancing next generation nanolithography with infiltration synthesis of hybrid nanocomposite resists journal January 2019
High Sensitivity Resists for EUV Lithography: A Review of Material Design Strategies and Performance Results journal August 2020

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Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY