The relationship between the chemical composition distribution in resist thin films and the pattern linewidth roughness

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K14212
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 21060:Electron device and electronic equipment-related
• Research Institution: University of Hyogo
• Principal Investigator: Yamakawa Shinji 兵庫県立大学, 高度産業科学技術研究所, 助教 (90876252)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: EUVリソグラフィ / フォトレジスト / 軟X線共鳴散乱 / 線幅ばらつき

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The most critical issue for EUV resists is to suppress the linewidth roughness of the resist after patterning. It is considered that the key role is the uniformity of the chemical composition distribution in resist thin films. However, the relationship between the chemical composition distribution in resist thin films and the linewidth roughness after patterning has not been clarified. In this study, we evaluated the chemical composition distribution of model resists by contact angle measurement and soft X-ray analysis. As a result, it has been clarified that the polarity difference of the chemical composition in the resist affects the chemical composition distribution. Furthermore, the L/S patterning showed that the linewidth roughness is affected by the chemical composition distribution and the developer.

Free Research Field

高分子化学、EUVレジスト

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

半導体の性能向上にはフォトレジストの性能向上が必須である。本研究ではフォトレジストの化学組成分布評価からパターニング評価までを包括的に検討した。線幅ばらつきの抑制は、化学組成分布を単純に均一にすればよいという話ではなく、どのような凝集構造が現像液とどう相互作用するのかも含めて考える必要があることを指摘した。低線幅ばらつきを指向するフォトレジスト開発指針につながるため、社会的な意義が大きい。