Work

Photolithography reaches 6 nm half-pitch using extreme ultraviolet light

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: Extreme ultraviolet interference lithography records the interference pattern of two diffracted, coherent light beams, where the pattern resolution is half the diffraction grating resolution. The fabrication of diffraction grating masks by e-beam lithography is restricted by the electron proximity effect and pattern transfer limitations into diffraction efficient materials. By patterning HSQ lines at a relaxed pitch to avoid the electron proximity effect, depositing conformal iridium via atomic layer deposition, followed by ion milling the top and bottom iridium and HSQ removal, we fabricated iridium diffraction gratings at double the line spacing of the original HSQ lines. Line/space patterns of 6-nm half-pitch patterns were achieved using these masks, marking a new record resolution in photolithography.

Source: Journal of Micro/Nanopatterning Materials and Metrology

DOI: 10.1117/1.jmm.15.3.033505

Authors: Daniel Fan, Yasin Ekinci

Institution: Paul Scherrer Institute

Language: English

Topic: Advancements in Photolithography Techniques

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Foundation, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Paul Scherrer Institut

Award: Ultradense silicon nanowires