Patterning Sn-based EUV resists with low-energy electrons

TL;DR

This study investigates how low-energy electrons induce chemical changes in Sn-based EUV resists, revealing that even electrons as low as 1.2 eV can cause densification and pattern formation, advancing understanding of EUV lithography processes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental approach combining LEEM, EELS, and AFM to study electron-induced chemistry in EUV resists, and proposes a simplified reaction model for pattern formation.

Findings

Electrons as low as 1.2 eV can induce chemical reactions in the resist.

Resist densification is associated with carbon loss upon electron irradiation.

Less than 10 low-energy electrons per molecule are needed to make the resist insoluble.

Abstract

Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is the newest technology that will be used in the semiconductor industry for printing circuitry in the sub-20 nm scale. Low-energy electrons (LEEs) produced upon illumination of resist materials with EUV photons (92 eV) play a central role in the formation of the nanopatterns. However, up to now the details of this process are not well understood. In this work, a novel experimental approach that combines Low-Energy Electron Microscopy (LEEM), Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS), and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is used to study changes induced by electrons in the 0-40 eV range in thin films of molecular organometallic EUV resists known as tin-oxo cages. LEEM-EELS spectroscopic experiments were used to detect surface charging upon electron exposure and to estimate the electron landing energy. AFM post-exposure analyses revealed that irradiation of the resist with LEEs leads to the densification of the resist layer associated to carbon loss. The same chemical processes that yield densification render the solubility change responsible for the pattern formation in the lithographic application. Remarkably, electrons as low as 1.2 eV are able to induce chemical reactions in the Sn-based resist. Based on the thickness profiles resulting from LEE exposures in the 3-48 mC/cm 2 dose range, a simplified reaction model is proposed where the resist undergoes sequential chemical reactions, yielding first a sparsely cross-linked network, followed by the formation of a denser cross-linked network. This model allows us to estimate a maximum reaction volume on the initial material of 0.15 nm 3 per incident electron in the energy range studied, which means that less than 10 LEEs per molecule on average are needed to turn the material insoluble and thus render a pattern.