SBIR Phase II: Directly Patternable Inorganic Hardmask for Nanolithography

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目旨在开发一种强大的高速无机抗蚀剂平台，以彻底改变特征尺寸为30 nm的半导体器件的制造。目前，对于这些特征尺寸的图案化装置，没有证明满足所有要求（高速、低线宽粗糙度（LWR）、足够的抗蚀刻性）的有机或无机抗蚀剂。一个全新的方法，依赖于沉积极高质量的氧化膜从水溶液和非常有效的光子诱导网络形成反应，正在追求。该方法能够生产极小的特征尺寸和线宽粗糙度，从而能够在灵敏度、线宽粗糙度和分辨率的独特高性能三角形内进行优化。 抗蚀剂沉积，抗蚀剂配方，曝光条件和工艺参数将被详细检查，同时解决国际技术路线图半导体（ITRS）路线图193 i和极紫外（EUV）光刻的要求。 预期的结果包括在193 nm曝光和双重图案化的3 nm LWR下的26 nm线/空间（L/S）分辨率，以及在EUV曝光的1.2 nm LWR下的22 nm L/S分辨率。该抗蚀剂平台还将导致具有前所未有的灵敏度的高分辨率电子束抗蚀剂。该项目的更广泛/商业影响是开发高性能抗蚀剂材料，以满足小于30 nm的半导体制造的关键未满足的需求。正在开发的材料解决了ITRS对光刻的两个“困难挑战”：满足22 nm半间距要求的EUV抗蚀剂，以及193 nm图案化扩展的成本上升。 由此产生的产品将服务于一个快速增长的市场，2015年的综合机会为2.5亿美元。 该项目的成功将对支持电子行业的ITRS路线图的持续生产力提高产生重大影响。 将实现新的器件性能水平，通过引入先进的电子产品产生广泛的社会影响，同时提高先进材料和半导体制造业的国内就业前景。更广泛的科学和工程研究社区将受益于新技术，以构建和研究纳米级极端的新型设备。 最后，用水性材料进行溶液加工将减少有毒溶剂的使用，并减少对真空加工设备的依赖，从而减少碳足迹。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop a robust, high-speed inorganic resist platform to revolutionize the manufacture of semiconductor devices with feature sizes 30 nm. At present, there is no demonstrated organic or inorganic resist that satisfies all of the requirements - high speed, low line-width roughness (LWR), sufficient etch resistance - for patterning devices at these feature sizes. A fundamentally new approach, relying on depositing extremely high-quality oxide films from aqueous solution and very efficient photon-induced network-forming reactions, is being pursued. The approach has enabled the production of extremely small feature sizes and linewidth roughness, enabling optimization within a uniquely high-performance triangle of sensitivity, linewidth roughness, and resolution. Resist deposition, resist formulations, exposure conditions, and processing parameters will be examined in detail to simultaneously address International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) roadmap requirements for 193i and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. Anticipated results include 26-nm line/space (L/S) resolution at 3 nm LWR with 193-nm exposures and double patterning, and 22-nm L/S resolution at 1.2 nm LWR with EUV exposures. This resist platform will also lead to a high-resolution electron beam resist with unprecedented sensitivity.The broader/commercial impact of this project is to develop high-performance resist materials to fill critical unmet needs for semiconductor manufacturing with features smaller than 30 nm. The material being developed addresses two of the ITRS "difficult challenges" for lithography: an EUV resist that meets 22-nm half-pitch requirements, and the containment of cost escalation of the extension of 193 nm patterning. The resulting product will serve a quickly growing market with a combined opportunity of $250 million in 2015. Success in the project will have a considerable impact on continued productivity gains in the ITRS roadmap, which supports the electronics industry. New levels of device performance will be enabled, providing broad societal impacts through the introduction of advanced electronics, while enhancing prospects for domestic employment in advanced materials and semiconductor manufacturing. The broader scientific and engineering research communities will benefit from new techniques to build and study novel devices at the extreme end of the nanoscale. Finally, solution processing with aqueous materials will reduce the use of toxic solvents and permit a smaller carbon footprint from reduced reliance on vacuum process equipment.