Nanolithography performances of ultraviolet III chemically amplified positive resist

Devices for future microelectronics shall demand lithographic performance that fall within the nanometer region (100 nm and below). Chemically amplified resists (CARs) offer a substantial gain in speed compared to conventional ones, and thus are attractive for the ultradense layouts of such future devices. However, before they can be selected for advanced microelectronics device production, nanolithography performances have to be proven. Ultraviolet (UV) III is a novel CAR from Shipley Corp. which was reported to possess fine-line lithographic capabilities, In this work, the UV III resist is characterized for the e-beam exposure. A commercial e-beam lithography machine was employed as exposure tool at 50 kV accelerating voltage. A process description for resolution below 100 nm is given, End resist performance was proven on layouts meaningful of actual devices. (C) 1997 American Vacuum Society.