Paper
27 March 2014 Advanced develop processes for reducing defects related with e-beam resists
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
Masks used for sub-20 nm half pitch of devices are required to be defect-free as well as to have more complicate and smaller patterns. For higher resolution for sub-20 nm device, the masks that can provide wider process windows on wafers are made using new e-beam resists and new mask materials. An introduction of advanced mask systems needs methodologies to overcome defect challenges that did not occur at previous mask systems. The defects should be related with chemical and physical properties from negative and positive e-beam resists or/and new type blanks used for advanced masks such as EUV or optical masks. As a mask pattern size is shrunken, the masks also have complicate structures and different surface properties from low end mask systems. Defect removal on the masks is important even at a develop process among mask manufacturing processes. This paper reports that advanced technology applications on mask develop processes have been performed to remove defects on the masks. First, a new rinse system has applied into a mask develop process for defect reduction. Second, a new develop process was also performed to remove defects on masks. The new develop process combined with the new rinse system has reduced more than 50% of defects including e-beam resist residue defects and other defects. This paper mainly focuses on defects related to negative and positive resists on masks and their solutions to reduce or/and remove the defects, which are used for sub-20 nm half pitch of devices, in terms of mask develop process.
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Byunghoon Lee, Sung-Jae Han, Se-Gun Moon, and Hee Bom Kim "Advanced develop processes for reducing defects related with e-beam resists", Proc. SPIE 9051, Advances in Patterning Materials and Processes XXXI, 90510W (27 March 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2047368
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KEYWORDS
Photomasks

Photoresist processing

Standards development

Manufacturing

Semiconducting wafers

Inspection

EUV optics

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