Deep submicron resist profile simulation and characterization of electron beam lithography system for cell projection and direct writing

In this article we report the experimental data of chemically amplified resists (CARs) used in fabrication of deep submicron pattern delineation using electron beam lithography, and propose a reliable simulation method that fits the experiment results well. CAR is proven to have high resolutions of 150 nm for a 70 nm diameter Gaussian beam at 30 keV, and 125 nm for various shaped beams at 50 keV. The sensitivity to process parameters of CAR can be reduced by finding the optimum experiment condition for the best resist profiles. To make the simulation results more realistic, we applied the ray tracing method to the development simulator especially appropriate for CAR. Also, we modified the conventional hybrid scattering model to include the inelastic scattering and to take the low energy lithography into account. (C) 1997 American Vacuum Society.