Absorption and loss of film thickness in photoresists and underlayer materials upon irradiation at 13.5 nm

Grace H. Ho; Fu-H. Kang; Huang-W. Fu; Yu-H. Shih; Hok-S. Fung; Wan-P. Ku; Yu-S. Cheng; Pei-J. Wu

doi:10.1117/12.851280

22 March 2010 Absorption and loss of film thickness in photoresists and underlayer materials upon irradiation at 13.5 nm

Grace H. Ho, Fu-H. Kang, Huang-W. Fu, Yu-H. Shih, Hok-S. Fung, Wan-P. Ku, Yu-S. Cheng, Pei-J. Wu

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Proceedings Volume 7636, Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Lithography; 76362U (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.851280
Event: SPIE Advanced Lithography, 2010, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

Optical properties, including refractive index, photoabsorption coefficient, and film thickness, were derived with a specular extreme ultraviolet reflectivity (SEUVR) method at 13.5 nm using a newly built ultrahigh-vacuum reflectometer. Light at 13.5 nm was delivered from the 08A1BM-LSGM beamline at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center in Taiwan. Samples of thin-film polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), round-robin resist (RRR), and underlayer materials were investigated. We observed an evolution in the reflectivity curve of most samples, which was ascribed mainly to a loss of thickness in the film caused by photoabsorption followed by an ablation effect. The thickness-loss rates of PMMA and RRR were (0.32±0.15) and (0.12±0.02) nm mJ^-1 cm², respectively, whereas the outgassing rate of RRR, scaled to a 0.4 W cm^-2 power density, was estimated as 1.3×10¹⁵ molecules cm^-2 s^-1. The loss of thickness was further proven by examining the thickness profile of overexposed samples with a profilometer. From these results, we have established a satisfactory correlation between the thin-film thickness losses with a structural metric, [σ_abs/doublebond equivalent per carbon atom]. The reflectivity curve stopped changing when the sample was overexposed. EUV photochemical reaction mechanisms were proposed, including outgassing by first-order exposure kinetics from the surface, which corresponded approximately to the linear ablation rate, and a slower diffusion process for outgassing from underneath the surface, which was observed for the overexposed sample as the stop of changes in the thickness.

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Grace H. Ho, Fu-H. Kang, Huang-W. Fu, Yu-H. Shih, Hok-S. Fung, Wan-P. Ku, Yu-S. Cheng, and Pei-J. Wu "Absorption and loss of film thickness in photoresists and underlayer materials upon irradiation at 13.5 nm", Proc. SPIE 7636, Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Lithography, 76362U (22 March 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.851280

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