Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2013 · 10 citations · 0 references
Geometric ModelingMaterials ScienceElectrical EngineeringOptical MaterialsEngineeringBetter Roughness ReductionPhotochemistryPlasma ElectronicsOptical PropertiesPlasma TheoryApplied PhysicsPlasma PhotonicsPlasma TreatmentPlasma ApplicationLine EdgeOptoelectronicsPlasma ProcessingPost-litho Plasma Treatment
Smoothing effects of post-litho plasma treatment on 22nm lines and spaces are evaluated for two types of EUV photo resists. This paper shows that different plasma conditions will be required to obtain a similar or better roughness reduction as previously reported for 30 nm lines. A first screening indicates a reduction in LWR of about 10% by using a H<sub>2</sub> plasma smoothing process. This smoothing is mainly triggered by the synergy of H<sub>2</sub> radical and ionic species during plasma treatment. Moreover the smoothing process is highly dependent on the polymer chemistry.