Positive Tone Nanoparticle Photoresists: New Insight on the Patterning Mechanism

Abstract

Methacrylate based nanoparticle materials have been investigated for their negative-tone patterning with DUV (248nm, 254nm), e-beam and EUV lithography, and show promising EUV sensitivity and resolution. In order to further extend the application of this novel class of materials and understand more about the underlying mechanism, we continue to study its dual-tone behavior and the tone-switching process. Catalyzed by a photoradical generator, we have been able to print positive tone line-space patterns with both DUV and e-beam exposure enabled patterning of features with a wide range of line-widths. By monitoring the patterning process, the PEB conditions have been found to be a crucial factor, which determines the solubility and core-ligand interactions.