Resist and Process Pattern Variations in Advanced Node Semiconductor Device Fabrication

Pattern variations can cause challenges in device scaling. Since the last few decades, the semiconductor industry has successfully utilized the device scaling technique by reducing the transistor area to meet the requirements needed for optimum device performance and fabrication cost during each generation of development. The main challenges in the development of this technique are imaging resolution and pattern variations. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography and the multiple-patterning method can be used to push the imaging resolution to sub-30 nm. This thesis investigates the mechanism of pattern variations and proposes methods for pattern improvement. The thesis begins by investigating the origin of pattern variations in an EUV–chemically amplified photoresist system. The experimental results show that the chemical composition and inhomogeneity of the material contribute to pattern variations in EUV lithography. A difference in the localized-material-removal rate indicates the contribution of stochastics chemical kinetics in the photoresist during the development process. The study then investigates the effects of the plasma etching process on the pattern variations. The plasma etching process can alter the pattern variations by modifying the etching behavior and the etching selectivity. The thesis also discusses the system-level or integrated process-induced pattern variations. The method proposed herein involves surface modification and tone inversion technique and reduces the line edge roughness by 26% on a 20-nm pitch line pattern. Using a multicolor line-cut process, the thesis experimentally demonstrated the control of the edge-placement error from system-level pattern variations.NASUNY Polytechnic InstituteDepartment of Nanoscale Science & EngineeringPhDBrainard, RobertGalis, SpyridonHan, YunKal, SubhadeepDenbeaux, Gre

Advanced resist materials for next generation lithography

With the advancement in technology the minimum lithographic feature size decreases more and more for every generation. The development of lithographic techniques and resist materials capable of meeting the requirements for the up- graded technology (resolution, sensitivity, roughness) started to play a trivial role. However, the issue represents a fundamental principle in lithography (the RLS trade-off) and it proves difficult to overcome. Addition of quenchers in chemically amplified resists reduces the acid diffusion length and improves the line edge roughness and increases the resolution of the patterned features, but decreases the sensitivity. The current most commonly researched approach to boost the sensitivity in organic resists is the addition of metals embedded in the molecular structure by covalent bonds. This approach was investigated in this thesis, and an extension towards high-Z organic additive compounds and high-Z cross-linkers was conducted. Furthermore as feature sizes less than 20 nm are routinely required, pattern col- lapse driven by the capillary forces upon development has become a serious limiting factor, independent of the lithography technique involved. Alongside with constantly developing the resist platforms there is also the need to improve the adhesion of the resist material to the silicon substrate, reducing pattern collapse and allowing for ultra high resolution and high aspect ratio patterning. In this thesis I will present the research I have undertaken in order to implement a resist platform suitable for next generation lithography and I will introduce and describe the new multi-trigger mechanism concept developed for this resist system. I will also present a study on active underlayes investigated for improved adhesion between the resist and the substrate

Modélisation des procédés pour la correction des effets de proximity en lithographie électronique

Since the development of the first integrated circuit, the number of components fabricated in a chip continued to grow while the dimensions of each component continued to be reduced. For each new technology node proposed, the fabrication process had to cope with the increasing complexity of its scaling down. The lithography step is one of the most critical for miniaturization due to the tightened requirements in both precision and accuracy of the pattern dimension printed into the wafer. Current mass production lithography technique is optical lithography. This technology is facing its resolution limits and the industry is looking for new approaches, such as Multi-patterning (MP), EUV lithography, Direct Write (DW), Nano-imprint or Direct Self-Assembly (DSA). Although these alternatives present significant differences among each other, they all present something in common: they rely on e-beam writers at some point of their flow. E-beam based lithography is subject to phenomena that impact resolution such as are electron scattering, fogging, acid diffusion, CMP loading, etc. The solution the industry adopted to address these effects is to predict and compensate for them. This correction requires predicting the effects, which is achieved through modeling. Hence the importance of developing accurate models for e-beam process. In this thesis, the basic concepts involving modeling are presented. Topics such as data quality, model selection and model validation are introduced as tools for modeling of e-beam lithography. Moreover, the concepts of local and global sensitivity analysis were also presented. Different strategies of global sensitivity analysis were presented and discussed as well as one of the main aspects in its evaluation, which is the space sampling approach. State-of-the-art strategies for todays and future lithography processes were presented and each of their main steps were described. First Principle models that explain the physics and chemistry of the most influential steps in the process resolution were also discussed. Moreover, general Compact models for predicting the results from e-beam lithography were also presented. Finally, some of the limitations of the current approach were described. New compact models described as Point-Spread-Function (PSF) are proposed based on new distributions, such as Gamma and Voigt. Besides, a technique using Splines for describing a PSF is also proposed. Moreover, a flexible resist model able to integrate most of the observed behavior was also proposed, based on evaluating any pattern on the layout using metrics. Results using such method further improved the any of the PSF distribution approach on the critical features that were limiting the future technology nodes. Other specific models and strategies for describing and compensating for extreme-long-range effects and for matching two different fabrication processes are also proposed and described in this work. The calibration layout is a key factor for providing the calibration algorithm with the experimental data necessary to determine the values of each of the parameters of the model. Several strategies from the literature were briefly described before introducing one of the main propositions of this thesis, which is employing variance-based global sensitivity analysis to determine which patterns are more suitable to be used for calibration. A complete flow for selecting patterns for a calibration layout was presented. A study regarding the impact of process and metrology variability over the calibration result was presented, indicating the limits one may expect from the generated model according to the quality of the data used. Finally, techniques for assuring the quality of a model such as cross-validation were also presented and demonstrated in some real-life situations.Depuis l'apparition du premier circuit intégré, le nombre de composants constituant une puce électronique n'a cessé d'augmenter tandis que les dimensions des composants ont continuellement diminué. Pour chaque nouveau nœud technologique, les procédés de fabrication se sont complexifiés pour permettre cette réduction de taille. L'étape de lithographie est une des étapes la plus critique pour permettre la miniaturisation. La technique de lithographie qui permet la production en masse est la lithographie optique par projection. Néanmoins cette technologie approche de ses limites en résolution et l'industrie cherche de nouvelles techniques pour continuer à réduire la taille des composants. Les candidats sont l'écriture en plusieurs passes, la lithographie EUV, l'écriture directe, la nano-impression ou l'auto-organisation dirigée. Même si ces alternatives reposent sur des principes très différents, chacune a en commun l'utilisation de la lithographie électronique à un moment ou à un autre de leur réalisation. La lithographie électronique est sujette à des phénomènes spécifiques qui impactent la résolution finale, tels la diffusion des électrons, le « fogging », la diffusion d'acide, la CMP etc… La solution choisie par l'industrie pour tenir compte de tous ces phénomènes est de les prévoir puis de les compenser. Cette correction nécessite de les prédire à l'aide de modélisation, la précision de ces modèles décrivant les procédés étant primordiale. Dans cette thèse, les concepts de base permettant de développer un modèle sont présentés. L'évaluation de la qualité des données, la méthodologie de choix d'un modèle ainsi que la validation de ce model sont introduites. De plus, les concepts d'analyse de sensibilité locale et globale seront définis. L'état de l'art des stratégies utilisées ou envisagées pour les procédés lithographiques actuels ou futurs sont énoncés, chacune des principales étapes lithographiques étant détaillée. Les modèles tenant compte de la physique et de la chimie impactant sur la résolution après écriture par e-beam sont étudiés. De plus, les modèles compacts permettant de prédire les résultats obtenus par e-beam seront détaillés, pour finalement décrire les limitations des stratégies actuelles. De nouveaux modèles compactes sont proposés en introduisant de nouvelles familles de fonctions telles que les fonctions Gamma ou les fonctions de Voigt. De plus, l'utilisation des fonctions d'interpolations de type Spline sont également proposés. Un modèle résine d'utilisation souple a également été développé pour tenir compte de la plupart des comportements expérimentaux observés en évaluant les dimensions de motifs d'un dessin en utilisant des métriques appropriés. Les résultats obtenus en utilisant de telles méthodes montrent une amélioration de la précision de la modélisation, notamment en ce qui concerne les motifs critiques. D'autres modèles spécifiques permettant de décrire les effets d'extrême longue portée ou permettant de compenser les déviations entre deux procédés sont également décrits dans ce travail. Le choix du jeu de motifs de calibration est critique pour permettre à l'algorithme de calibration d'obtenir des valeurs robustes des paramètres du modèle. Plusieurs stratégies utilisées dans la littérature sont brièvement décrites avant l'introduction d'une technique qui utilise l'analyse de sensibilité globale basée sur la variance afin de sélectionner les types de géométries optimales pour la calibration. Une stratégie permettant la sélection de ces motifs de calibration est détaillée. L'étude de l'impact du procédé et des incertitudes de mesures issue de la métrologie est également abordée, ce qui permet d'énoncer les limites à attendre du modèle sachant que les mesures peuvent être imprécises. Finalement, des techniques permettant de s'assurer de la qualité d'un modèle sont détaillées, telle l'utilisation de la validation croisée. La pertinence de ces techniques est démontrée pour quelques cas réel

Interferometric switches for transparent networks : development and integration

Magneto-optic devices are a potential enabler of better scaling, transparent networks that are bit-rate, protocol and format insensitive. Transparency is critical given the paradigm shift from connection-oriented communications to IP-centric packet switched data traffic driven by the influx of high bandwidth applications. This is made more urgent by the large and growing optical-electronic bandwidth mismatch as well as the rapid approach of device dimensions to the quantum limit. Fiber-based switches utilizing bismuth-substituted iron garnets as Faraday rotators in Mach-Zehnder and Sagnac interferometer configurations are proposed, analyzed and characterized. The issues and limitations of these switches are investigated and efforts are undertaken to model and optimize the field generating coil impedance parameters. While alleviating the concerns associated with free-space switches and being compatible with contemporary optical networks, the performance of the fiber-based interferometric switches is still below theoretical limits and could be improved. Moreover, the discrete components of a fiber-based implementation engender scalability concerns. In keeping with the spirit of Richard Feynman\u27s lectures, the maturity of planar lithographic techniques that are widely used in microelectronics is leveraged to realize integrated versions of the fiber-based interferometric switches. The design, analysis, fabrication and characterization of these integrated switches are detailed herein, including the selection of a suitable material system, design of the waveguide geometry, creation and calibration of a fabrication process based on direct-write scanning electron-beam lithography as well as determination of the switches\u27 fabrication tolerance. While the larger waveguide cross-section of the microphotonic switches enables efficient coupling to fiber and greatly reduces geometrical birefringence, the weak confinement results in longer device lengths. Moreover, the small but finite birefringence induces some polarization dependence in switch performance. Consequently, compact and nominally non-birefringent nanophotonic versions of the interferometric switches are proposed and analyzed in the interest of further improving switch performance and scalability

Absorbance Modulation Optical Lithography: Simulating the Performance of an Adaptable Absorbance Mask in the Near-Field.

The challenge for lithography today is to continue the reduction of feature size whilst facing severe theoretical and practical limitations. In 2006 Rajesh Menon and Hank Smith proposed a new lithography system named absorbance modulation optical lithography (AMOL) [Menon 2006]. AMOL proposed replacing the normal metal mask of a lithography system with an absorbance modulation layer (AML), made from a photochromic material. This allows, through the competition between two incident wavelengths, the creation of an adaptive absorbance mask. The AML allows intimate contact to an underlying resist and hence the optical near-field may be used to create sub-diffraction limited exposures. The aim of this thesis is to model AMOL and demonstrate the abilities and the limits of the system, particularly focusing on sub-diffraction limited imaging. This thesis describes the construction of a vector electromagnetic simulation to explore the idea and performance of AMOL, and an exploration of the ability of AMOL to propagate sub-diffraction limited images into a photoresist. A finite element method (FEM) model was constructed to simulate the formation of apertures in the AML and light transmission through the system. Three major areas of interest were explored in this thesis; the effect of polarisation on imaging, using a plasmonic reflector layers (PRLs) to improve the depth of focus (DOF), and introducing a superlens to AMOL. Investigations of polarisation demonstrated strong preference for a transverse magnetic (TM) polarised exposing wavelength for near-field exposures. Associated with polarisation, and supporting work with absorbance gratings, the importance of the material parameters of the AML in allowing sub-diffraction limited exposures was discussed. It was also noted that, in common with all near-field systems, the depth of focus (DOF) was poor, worse than comparable metal systems. This thesis also demonstrates that the introduction of a PRL can improve the DOF and process latitude for resist thicknesses up to 60 nm and, although performance was reduced when using a silver PRL, the substantial improvements to the DOF and process latitude make a PRL valuable for an AMOL system. This thesis also models the superlens to an AMOL system, which theoretically allows propagation of the image in the near-field. It is demonstrated that the superlens can project an AMOL image into an underlying resist, but that this image is degraded, especially for thick and non-ideal superlenses. The superlens does have a second useful effect, as it can act as a dichroic filter; decreasing the intensity ratio in the resist by a factor of ten, overcoming issues of resist sensitivity. The superlens can allow image projection and filtering with AMOL, however improvements to the available superlens materials or changes to the AML will be needed to avoid image deterioration. This thesis has developed the first full-vector model of an absorbance modulation optical lithography (AMOL) system. This model has been used to increase the understanding of the complex effects that go into the creation of sub-diffraction limited features with AMOL. In particular the model has been used to investigate polarisation, PRLs and superlenses in AMOL. This thesis demonstrates the ability of AMOL to create narrow apertures and sub-diffraction limited exposures in a photoresist, and describes the limitations of AMOL, including material parameters and DOF. AMOL is a new and interesting lithography technique; this thesis simulates the abilities and challenges of sub-diffraction lithography using an AMOL system

Microfluidics and Nanofluidics Handbook

The Microfluidics and Nanofluidics Handbook: Two-Volume Set comprehensively captures the cross-disciplinary breadth of the fields of micro- and nanofluidics, which encompass the biological sciences, chemistry, physics and engineering applications. To fill the knowledge gap between engineering and the basic sciences, the editors pulled together key individuals, well known in their respective areas, to author chapters that help graduate students, scientists, and practicing engineers understand the overall area of microfluidics and nanofluidics. Topics covered include Finite Volume Method for Numerical Simulation Lattice Boltzmann Method and Its Applications in Microfluidics Microparticle and Nanoparticle Manipulation Methane Solubility Enhancement in Water Confined to Nanoscale Pores Volume Two: Fabrication, Implementation, and Applications focuses on topics related to experimental and numerical methods. It also covers fabrication and applications in a variety of areas, from aerospace to biological systems. Reflecting the inherent nature of microfluidics and nanofluidics, the book includes as much interdisciplinary knowledge as possible. It provides the fundamental science background for newcomers and advanced techniques and concepts for experienced researchers and professionals