Characteristic study of electron beam stabilization for deep-UV photoresists

As the design rule of device shrinks below 0.14 mu M, the higher resolution is required for real device application. With smaller feature size below 0.14 mu m, the lower coating thickness of resist is essential because of the pattern collapse issue at the high aspect ratio. However, the lower resist thickness induces the problem of etch selectivity due to the limited etch resistance of resist. In this study, the method of electron beam stabilization has been applied for improving the etch selectivity of resist patterns having an aspect ratio less than 3:1. With applying the electron beam stabilization, the Deep-UV photoresists based on the chemical structures of Acetal (AS106) and Escap (UV82) types have been evaluated in the respect of etch selectivity as the functions of an electron beam dose and etch condition. The metal etch rate reductions of 20 percent and 26 percent have been occurred for the resists of Acetal and Escap type, respectively, at 2000 mu C/cm(2). And the thermal and chemical properties were characterized before and after electron beam stabilization using DSC, TGA, and FT-IR. The cross-sectional views of resist pattern after electron beam processing were also investigated to know the chemical stability of resist during the electron beam process. Based on the experimental results, the application possibility of electron beam stabilization for real device fabrication below 0.14 mu m has been presented in this paper.