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PUBLICATIONS

Understanding Deviations in Lithographic Patterns Near Interfaces: Characterization of Antireflective Coatings (ARC) and the ARC/Resist Interface

Published

Author(s)

Joseph~undefined~undefined~undefined~undefined~undefined Lenhart, Daniel A. Fischer, S Sambasivan, Eric K. Lin, Wen-Li Wu, Douglas Guerrero, Yijun Wang, R Puligadda

Abstract

Interactions between a bottom anti-reflective coating (BARC) and a photo-resist can critically impact lithographic patterns. For example, a lithographic pattern can shrink or spread near a BARC interface, a process called undercutting or footing respectively, due to incompatibility between the two materials. Experiments were conducted on two industrial BARC coatings in an effort to determine the impact of BARC surface chemistry on the footing-undercutting phenomena. The BARC coatings were characterized by Near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS), contact angle measurements, and neutron and X-ray reflectivity. Contact angle measurement using a variety of fluids showed that the fluid contact angles were independent of the type of BARC coating or the BARC processing temperature. NEXAFS measurements showed that the surface chemistry of each BARC was also independent of the processing temperature. These results suggest that acid-base interactions at the BARC resist interface are not the cause of the footing / undercutting phenomena.
Citation
Applied Surface Science
Pub Type
Journals

Keywords

interfaces, Lithography, NEXAFS
Ceramics and Biomaterials

Citation

Lenhart, J. , Fischer, D. , Sambasivan, S. , Lin, E. , Wu, W. , Guerrero, D. , Wang, Y. and Puligadda, R. (2021), Understanding Deviations in Lithographic Patterns Near Interfaces: Characterization of Antireflective Coatings (ARC) and the ARC/Resist Interface, Applied Surface Science (Accessed October 8, 2025)

Issues

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Created October 12, 2021
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