U.S.-U.K. Cooperative Research: Inorganic Resist Materials for All-Vacuum Lithography

该奖项将支持亚利桑那州立大学电气和计算机工程系Michael N.Kozicki博士和苏格兰爱丁堡大学Alan Owen教授之间的合作研究。本研究的目的是研究用于全真空光刻的无机抗蚀剂材料。集成电路制造仍然广泛地通过在“洁净室”环境中的单个设备之间传送衬底来进行。由于不可能完全控制空气中的污染物含量，因此颗粒或蒸气有足够的机会撞击正在加工的材料，从而改变设备特性并降低产品产量。在真空兼容条件下进行的完整制造工艺将显著减少衬底污染。许多工艺步骤可能已经在真空下进行了，但光刻，一种使用含有挥发性成分的有机材料的工艺，与这一概念不兼容。这是目前实现全真空加工的障碍。本项目的目的是研究As-S/Ag无机抗蚀剂体系，以期将其应用于所有真空工艺。这项工作将与爱丁堡大学合作完成，爱丁堡大学在As-S硫系化合物方面拥有丰富的经验，目前正在研究As-S/Ag系统的优化，以应用于微细光刻。合作项目将涉及爱丁堡正在进行的基础材料科学和物理化学研究，以及亚利桑那州立大学正在进行的全真空应用调查和完整光刻工艺的开发。这一研究成果可能会对硅和化合物半导体器件制造技术的发展产生重大影响。

This award will support collaborative research between Dr. Michael N. Kozicki, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Arizona State University and Professor Alan Owen, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. The goal of the research is to study inorganic resist materials for all-vacuum lithography. Integrated circuit fabrication is still widely carried out by transporting the substrates between individual pieces of equipment in a "cleanroom" environment. Since it is impossible to control fully the contaminant content of the air, there is ample opportunity for particulates or vapors to impinge on the materials being processed, thereby altering device characteristics and reducing product yield. A complete fabrication process carried out under vacuum compatible conditions would result in a significant reduction in substrate contamination. Many process steps may already be carried out under vacuum, but lithography, a process which uses organic materials with volatile components, is not compatible with this concept. This is currently a barrier to the realization of all-vacuum processing. The objective of this program is to investigate the As-S/Ag inorganic resist system with a view to applying it to all vacuum-processing. This will be done in conjunction with the University of Edinburgh, which has considerable experience with the As-S chalcogenides and is currently performing research on the optimization of the As-S/Ag system for applications in microlithography. The cooperative program will involve fundamental materials science and physical chemistry research being done at Edinburgh, with an investigation of all-vacuum applications and the development of a full lithographical process being carried out at Arizona State University. Results of this research may have a significant impact on the development of silicon and compound semiconductor device fabrication technology.