Hardmask technology for sub-100 nm lithographic imaging

Copyright 2003 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. This paper was (will be) published in and is made available as an electronic reprint [preprint] with permission of SPIE. Single print or electronic copies for personal use only are allowed. Systematic or multiple reproduction, distribution to multiple locations through an electronic listserver or other electronic means, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commericial purposes, or modification of the content of the pater are all prohibited. By choosing to view or print this document, you agree to all the provisions of the copyright law protecting it.

We have developed a silicon-based, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) prepared material that performs both as an antireflective coating (ARC) and a hardmask and thus enables the use of thin resists for device fabrication. This ARC/hardmask material offers several advantages over organic bottom antireflective coatings (BARC). These benefits include excellent tunability of the material’s optical properties, which allows superior substrate reflectivity control, and high etch selectivity to resist, exceeding 2:1. In addition, this material can serve as an effective hardmask etch barrier during the plasma etching of dielectric stacks, as the underlying silicon oxide etches eight times faster than this material in typical fluorocarbon plasma. These properties enable the pattering of features in 1-2mm dielectric stacks using thin resists, imaging that would otherwise be impossible with conventional processing. Lithographic performance and etch characteristics of a thin resist process over both single layer and index-graded ARC/hardmask materials will be shown.

By: Katherina Babich, David R. Medeiros, Arpan P. Mahorowala, Karen E. Petrillo, Dirk Pfeiffer, Marie Angelopoulos, Alfred Grill, Vishnubhai V. Patel, Scott D. Halle, Timothy A. Brunner, Richard A. Conti, Scott D. Allen, Richard Wise

Published in: SPIE Proceedings, volume 5039, (no I), pages 152-65 in 2003

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