Resist debris formation in electron beam lithography
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors theoretically and experimentally investigated the resist debris formation dependence on beam stepping to beam size ratio in electron beam lithography (EBL) and showed that this undesirable phenomenon of RD formation gives another dimension to look at the problem of proximity exposure effect in EBL.
About: This article is published in Vacuum.The article was published on 1999-04-01. It has received 4 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Electron-beam lithography & Beam (structure).
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) development process with cold developers for its effect on resolution, resist residue, and pattern quality of sub-10 nm electron beam lithography (EBL).
Abstract: We investigate poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) development processing with cold developers (4–10 °C) for its effect on resolution, resist residue, and pattern quality of sub-10 nm electron beam lithography (EBL). We find that low-temperature development results in higher EBL resolution and improved feature quality. PMMA trenches of 4–8 nm are obtained reproducibly at 30 kV using cold development. Fabrication of single-particle-width Au nanoparticle lines was performed by lift-off. We discuss key factors for formation of PMMA trenches at the sub-10 nm scale.
232 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of the proximity effect on the linewidth and thickness of the residual resist is discussed, and some methods are presented to solve this problem by raising the electron beam voltage and depositing thin film material with low atomic number on a silicon substrate.
Abstract: For the next-generation optical disc, electron beam mastering has been considered as a high-potential technique to fabricate a high-density optical disc. However, for electron beam mastering, the proximity effect caused by electron backscattering is an important problem. In this study, the influence of the proximity effect on the linewidth (full width at half magnitude, FWHM) and thickness of the residual resist is discussed. Some methods are presented to solve the proximity effect for optical disc mastering, i.e., by raising the electron beam voltage and depositing thin film material with low atomic number on a silicon substrate. In the study, thin film materials such as Al, Ni, SiO2, and Si3N4 are deposited on a silicon wafer to explore the proximity effect. The preliminary experimental results show that raising the electron beam voltage and depositing SiO2 or Si3N4 thin film on a silicon substrate can efficiently solve this problem. Later, the resist with a nano-pattern is transferred into a metal Ni–Co (nickel–cobalt) mould by electroplating. The technique of the Ni–Co electroplating process with hardness at least Vicker hardness (Hv) 650 and residual stress below 1.5 kg mm−2 is developed. Then, with the Ni–Co mould, a modified LIGA process is applied to produce a high-density optical disc. The Ni–Co mould serves as the master for the hot embossing process to replicate the nano-pattern onto the PMMA sheet. Since the feature size is down to the nanometre range, the study presents an innovative demoulding mechanism to demould the master from the PMMA sheet without damaging the nanometre patterns.
5 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the formation of unsupported resist microfragments called resist debris (RD) over the exposed pattern areas in EBL is found to predict proximity exposure (PE) effects.
Abstract: Deliberate formation of unsupported resist microfragments called resist debris (RD) over the exposed pattern areas in electron beam lithography (EBL) is found to predict proximity exposure (PE) effects. Some simulation results and corresponding experimental results on RD formation discussed in the article show that both intra- and interpattern PE effects can be observed and explained from the nature of RD distribution. This gives a different kind of tool to tackle the problem of PE effect in EBL.
1 citations
TL;DR: The phenomenon of resist debris (RD) formation is shown to be a useful method for proximity exposure (PE) effect analysis in electron beam lithography as discussed by the authors, and some unique features associated with the method have direct relevance with the electron beam exposure parameters assumed in the simulation work.
Abstract: The phenomenon of resist debris (RD) formation is shown to be a useful method for proximity exposure (PE) effect analysis in electron beam lithography. Some simulation results and corresponding experimental results discussed in this article on RD formation over the electron beam exposed pattern areas before and after PE effect correction reveal certain unique features associated with the method. These unique features of the method have direct relevance with the electron beam exposure parameters assumed in the simulation work, their implementation during the experiments, pattern shape-spacing fidelity, and also the correction scheme used for the PE effect correction.