Temperature rise of the mask-resist assembly during LIGA exposure.
Deep X-ray lithography on PMMA resist is used in the LIGA process. The resist is exposed to synchrotron X-rays through a patterned mask and then is developed in a liquid developer to make high aspect ratio microstructures. The limitations in dimensional accuracies of the LIGA generated microstructure originate from many sources, including synchrotron and X-ray physics, thermal and mechanical properties of mask and resist, and from the kinetics of the developer. This work addresses the thermal analysis and temperature rise of the mask-resist assembly during exposure in air at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) synchrotron. The concern is that dimensional errors generated at the mask and the resist due to thermal expansion will lower the accuracy of the lithography. We have developed a three-dimensional finite-element model of the mask and resist assembly that includes a mask with absorber, a resist with substrate, three metal holders, and a water-cooling block. We employed the LIGA exposure-development software LEX-D to calculate volumetric heat sources generated in the assembly by X-ray absorption and the commercial software ABAQUS to calculate heat transfer including thermal conduction inside the assembly, natural and forced convection, and thermal radiation. at assembly outer and/or inner surfaces. The calculations of assembly maximum temperature. have been compared with temperature measurements conducted at ALS. In some of these experiments, additional cooling of the assembly was produced by forced nitrogen flow ('nitrogen jets') directed at the mask surface. The temperature rise in the silicon mask and the mask holder comes directly from the X-ray absorption, but nitrogen jets carry away a significant portion of heat energy from the mask surface, while natural convection carries away negligibly small amounts energy from the holder. The temperature rise in PMMA resist is mainly from heat conducted from the silicon substrate backward to the resist and from the inner cavity air forward to the resist, while the X-ray absorption is only secondary. Therefore, reduction of heat flow conducted from both substrate and cavity air to the resist is essential. An improved water-cooling block is expected to carry away most heat energy along the main heat conductive path, leaving the resist at a favorable working temperature.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 920115
- Report Number(s):
- SAND2004-5446; TRN: US0807399
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ABSORPTION
ADVANCED LIGHT SOURCE
AIR
ASPECT RATIO
FORCED CONVECTION
HEAT SOURCES
HEAT TRANSFER
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
NATURAL CONVECTION
NITROGEN
TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
THERMAL ANALYSIS
THERMAL CONDUCTION
THERMAL EXPANSION
THERMAL RADIATION
Temperature measurements.
LIGA.
X-ray lithography