Effect of the rinse solution to avoid 193 nm resist line collapse: A study for modification of resist polymer and process conditions

摘要

The device design rule is continuously shrinking toward optical resolution limit where k1 factor is below 0.3. The requirement for 193 nm photoresist below 90 nm node is quite challenging at the manufacturing phase. Using DI water rinse after development gives a significant amount of line collapse when the aspect ratio is over 3. To avoid line collapse, we co-developed special rinse solution for FIRM process with Tokyo Electron Ltd. Utilizing FIRM process, 90 nm dense line collapse was measured by CD SEM using focus-exposure matrices. The line collapse property has been observed using experimental 193 nm positive tone resist by varying monomer ratio of the polymer and process conditions. The surface property of the resist was also studied to investigate the interaction with rinse solution at the de-protected polymer region. However, a high surfactant concentration in the DI water rinse leads the swelling of the resist pattern profile. The resist component is the key to determine adequate surfactant concentration in rinse solution to minimize line collapse and pattern deformation.