The effect of resist material composition on development behavior

摘要

The relation between resist composition and its development behavior was evaluated. The effect of a hydrophobic unit on a resist and on its development behavior was systematically investigated. The resist was exposed to extreme ultraviolet (EUV) or electron beam (EB) exposure, and the development behavior of the film was observed by highspeed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM). The introduction of a hydrophobic group in the resist resulted in diminished swelling behavior and uniform dissolution. The resist resin cluster shape was also altered by the introduction of the hydrophobic group. These behaviors imply that the resin-resin and resin-tetramethylammonium hydroxide solution interactions differ. EUV lithography suffers from the photon issue that causes stochastic uniformity; however, in this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of achieving a better uniformity of resist patterning by altering the resist formulation.