The continued downscaling of electronic device dimensions requires the development of high-performance resist materials for advanced lithographic patterning. In this study, we examine Al-based hybrid “alucone” thin films grown by molecular layer deposition (MLD) for application to extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography and compare their resist properties with those of previously studied Hf-based MLD hybrid “hafnicone.” Both alucone films presented here—standard alucone and oxygen-rich alucone—are deposited using the precursors trimethylaluminum and ethylene glycol. Using electron-beam lithography as a proxy for EUV, we demonstrate that alucone behaves as a negative-tone resist capable of resolving line widths down to ∼20 nm. It is found that the sensitivity of oxygen-rich alucone is 4800 μC/cm2 using 0.125M HCl as the developer, whereas standard alucone is somewhat less sensitive. The resolution of alucone is higher than that of hafnicone, although the sensitivity is poorer. By performing x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, we investigate the degradation mechanism of standard alucone and compare this mechanism to that of hafnicone. We rationalize the observed differences in resist behavior between hafnicone and alucone by considering the oxophilicity of the metal atom in the respective thin films. This study provides a deeper understanding of the relationship between MLD film chemistry and irradiation responsiveness, which can help advance the optimization of resist materials for microelectronics fabrication.
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November 2024
Research Article|
November 08 2024
Comparison of Al- and Hf-based hybrid photoresists grown by molecular layer deposition for extreme ultraviolet lithography
Special Collection:
Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)
Ajay Ravi
;
Ajay Ravi
(Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305
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Long Viet Than
;
Long Viet Than
(Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – review & editing)
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305
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Jacqueline Lewis
;
Jacqueline Lewis
(Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – review & editing)
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305
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Jingwei Shi;
Jingwei Shi
(Formal analysis, Investigation)
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305
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Andreas Werbrouck
;
Andreas Werbrouck
(Formal analysis, Investigation, Software, Writing – review & editing)
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305
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Jingyi Han
;
Jingyi Han
(Formal analysis)
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305
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Miika Mattinen
;
Miika Mattinen
(Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing)
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 943053
Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki
, Helsinki 00014, Finland
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Stacey F. Bent
Stacey F. Bent
(Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 943054
Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305
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J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 42, 062407 (2024)
Article history
Received:
August 12 2024
Accepted:
October 15 2024
Citation
Ajay Ravi, Long Viet Than, Jacqueline Lewis, Jingwei Shi, Andreas Werbrouck, Jingyi Han, Miika Mattinen, Stacey F. Bent; Comparison of Al- and Hf-based hybrid photoresists grown by molecular layer deposition for extreme ultraviolet lithography. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 1 November 2024; 42 (6): 062407. https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0003975
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