388 results about "Extreme ultraviolet lithography" patented technology

The invention provides a fluorine-containing aromatic acid ligand modified zirconium metal oxide nano-cluster photoresist material as well as a preparation method and application thereof. The preparation method of the fluorine-containing aromatic acid ligand modified zirconium metal oxide nano-cluster photoresist material comprises the following steps: mixing a Zr6O4 (OH) 4 (MAA) 12 solution and a fluorine-containing aromatic acid ligand compound solution, and carrying out reaction, rotary evaporation and drying to obtain the fluorine-containing aromatic acid ligand modified zirconium metal oxide nano-cluster photoresist material. The preparation method is simple, cheap and easily available in raw materials, low in cost and suitable for industrial production. The fluorine-containing aromatic acid ligand modified zirconium metal oxide nano-cluster photoresist material can be suitable for ultraviolet lithography, electron beam lithography and extreme ultraviolet lithography, and the formed photoetched pattern has the advantages of low line edge roughness, high resolution and the like, and has wide application prospects.

The invention provides a polybenzyl chloride type monomolecular resin photoresist based on an adamantane structure as well as a preparation method and application of the polybenzyl chloride type monomolecular resin photoresist. According to the invention, the advantages of non-chemically amplified photoresist and monomolecular resin are combined, and a series of monomolecular resin based on adamantane core and periphery grafted benzyl chloride groups are synthesized. The series of compounds are simple in synthesis process, have very high thermal stability and good film-forming property, and can meet the requirements of a photoresist process. Electron beam and extreme ultraviolet lithography show that the series of photoresist materials are expected to meet the requirement of high-resolution lithography.

This application relates to a method for direct growth of multilayer graphene used as a core layer of a pellicle for extreme ultraviolet lithography. This application also relates to a method for manufacturing the pellicle for extreme ultraviolet lithography by using the multilayer graphene direct growth method. The multilayer graphene direct growth method may include forming few-layer graphene on a silicon nitride substrate, forming a metal catalyst layer on the few-layer graphene, and forming an amorphous carbon layer on the metal catalyst layer. The method may also include directly growing multilayer graphene from the few-layer graphene used as a seed layer by interlayer exchange between the metal catalyst layer and the amorphous carbon layer through heat treatment.

To provide an EUV mask blank which prevents damage to a multilayer reflective film due to dry etching using a halogen gas as an etching gas, and dry etching using an oxygen-based gas as an etching gas.SOLUTION: In a reflective mask blank for EUV lithography, a multilayer reflective film reflecting EUV light, a protective film for the multilayer reflective film, and an absorption layer absorbing EUV light are formed in this order. The protective film is made of rhodium (Rh) or a rhodium material including Rh and at least one element selected from the group consisting of nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), carbon (C), boron (B), ruthenium (Ru), niobium (Nb), molybdenum (Mo), tantalum (Ta), iridium (Ir), palladium (Pd), zirconium (Zr), and titanium (Ti).SELECTED DRAWING: None

Provided herein are methods and systems for reducing roughness of an EUV resist and improving etched features. The methods involve descumming an EUV resist, filling divots of the EUV resist, and protecting EUV resists with a cap. The resulting EUV resist has smoother features and increased selectivity to an underlying layer, which improves the quality of etched features. Following etching of the underlying layer, the cap may be removed.

Disclosed are: a pellicle for EUV lithography, which simultaneously satisfies the high transmittance and mechanical strength of crystalline silicon and can be manufactured in a large area, and a method for manufacturing the same.

The invention discloses a gluing process of a high-cleanliness IC chip quartz substrate, and relates to the technical field of photoetching machines. The objective of the invention is to solve the problem that a manner of dropwise adding photoresist may hardly completely avoid generation of bubbles, and especially in a structure with a high aspect ratio, variable-speed rotation contributes to improvement of uniformity of a coating, but may still hardly achieve an ideal gluing effect for some quartz substrates with complex shapes or sizes. The stability of the substrate in the gluing process is ensured through preheating treatment and the vacuum adsorption device, the surface of the substrate is inspected by combining the visual inspection device, the high cleanliness of the substrate is ensured, good initial conditions are provided for the gluing process, accurate control is achieved in the extreme ultraviolet lithography process, the adhesive force of photoresist and the substrate is improved, and the production efficiency is improved. The etching resistance of the photoresist is improved, the quality of the pattern structure on the surface of the developed quartz substrate is ensured through visual inspection and post-baking treatment, and the overall manufacturing quality and efficiency of the IC chip are remarkably improved.

An EUV stocker and an EUV pod device is disclosed. The EUV stocker includes an AI driven dynamic control circuitry, an AI controlled safety interlock, and an independent air return control device. The EUV stocker includes a Mass Flow Control (MFC) that operates in conjunction with one or more valves. The EUV stocker further includes a hydrocarbon detecting assembly, oxygen detecting assembly, pressure detecting assembly, and temperature detecting assembly and more to maintain the required condition within the EUV stocker. The EUV stocker also includes automated transportation devices such as AMHS, OHT, MR, AGV, RGV, or the like to provide a safe EUV mask storage environment for operators.

The invention relates to an attachment (25) for an optical element, in particular for an EUV mirror, comprising: a plurality of projections (31) with connecting surfaces (30) for establishing a material-bonded connection, in particular an adhesive bond, with the optical element. In the attachment (25), at least one connecting surface (30), and in particular all connecting surfaces (30), are substantially circular. The invention also relates to an optical element, in particular an EUV mirror, comprising: a base body, and at least one attachment (25) configured as described above, wherein the attachment (25) is connected to the base body at the connecting surfaces (30) via a material-bonded connection, in particular an adhesive bond. The invention also relates to a semiconductor technology system, in particular an EUV lithography system, which has at least one such optical element.

A first location within a mask pattern of a semiconductor circuit layout is determined, based on a feature of the mask pattern that is within a threshold distance of a boundary in the mask pattern. The mask pattern is based on a first mask exposure and a second mask exposure that meet at the boundary. The first location defines where to place a first assistive feature that reduces a sensitivity to lithographic process variations of the feature of the mask pattern. A second location of the mask pattern is also determined. The second location defines where to place a second assistive feature that reduces stray light at the boundary during the first mask exposure and the second mask exposure. The mask pattern is then modified to place the first assistive feature in the first location and the second assistive feature in the second location.

The invention discloses a coherent modulation detection method and device for extreme ultraviolet lithography mask phase defects. High-precision full-field reconstruction of nanoscale phase defects is realized through an iterative algorithm. The device adopts a compact extreme ultraviolet light source to generate high-brightness coherent light, focusing probe light is reflected by a multi-layer film focusing optical device and enters a mask at a Bragg angle, the reflected light carries phase defect information, the defect information is coded into an intensity signal through amplitude-phase dual modulation of a modulator, a photoelectric detector collects a diffraction pattern, and the diffraction pattern is detected by a detector. Inputting an iterative algorithm; and finally realizing the quantitative reconstruction of the phase defect by combining support constraint with an error amplification coefficient, ensuring the convergence of the algorithm, modulating a forward propagation simulation light field, correcting the calculated light field by amplitude constraint, demodulating a reverse propagation simulation light field, and finally realizing the quantitative reconstruction of the phase defect. The device is suitable for online detection of the extreme ultraviolet mask, and has the advantages of strong anti-noise capability, good algorithm convergence, low requirement on the dynamic range of a detector and the like.

The non-chemically-amplified resist composition exhibits a high sensitivity and maximum resolution when processed by photolithography using high-energy radiation, typically EB and EUV lithography. The resist composition comprises a hypervalent iodine compound, a carboxy-containing polymer, and a solvent is provided. When processed by photolithography using high-energy radiation, the resist composition exhibits a high sensitivity and resolution.

This invention discloses a method for enhancing and controlling the radiation of an LPP-EUV light source based on dual-pulse spatiotemporal co-constraint, belonging to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology. This invention obtains a spatiotemporal reference by real-time monitoring of a liquid metal droplet, uses a pre-pulse laser to induce target material deformation into a fogged target cloud, and combines high-speed imaging and a hydrodynamic model to predict the time and coordinates of the target cloud's energy absorption peak. It dynamically adjusts the delay time and optical axis direction of the main pulse laser to achieve dual-pulse spatiotemporal co-constraint, and constructs a closed-loop control system through a recursive least squares algorithm with a dynamic forgetting factor. This invention effectively improves the extreme ultraviolet light conversion efficiency, controls the power fluctuation of the light source within ±0.5%, and extends the maintenance cycle of optical components by 2 times. It can be widely applied to next-generation high-power extreme ultraviolet lithography light source systems, meeting the application requirements of semiconductor miniaturization processes.

Coated nanotubes and bundles of nanotubes are formed into membranes useful in optical assemblies in EUV photolithography systems. These optical assemblies are useful in methods for patterning materials on a semiconductor substrate. Such methods involve generating, in a UV lithography system, UV radiation. The UV radiation is passed through a coating layer of the optical assembly, e.g., a pellicle assembly. The UV radiation that has passed through the coating layer is passed through a matrix of individual nanotubes or matrix of nanotube bundles. UV radiation that passes through the matrix of individual nanotubes or matrix of nanotube bundles is reflected from a mask and received at a semiconductor substrate.

The present invention relates to a device for preventing the adsorption of fine particles onto a mask in a lithography device using a vacuum system and, more specifically, to an extreme ultraviolet lithography device that does not use a pellicle in membrane form. An embodiment of the lithography device according to the present invention comprises: a light-source-unit chamber in which a light source for lithography is disposed; a substrate-unit chamber in which is disposed a substrate on which lithography processing is performed by the light source for lithography; a connection unit which connects the light-source-unit chamber and the substrate-unit chamber and through which light generated by the light source for lithography travels; and a barrier module that is mounted to at least one of the connection unit, the light-source-unit chamber adjacent to the connection unit, and the substrate-unit chamber adjacent to the connection unit, to prevent particles present in the light-source unit chamber from moving to the substrate-unit chamber, wherein the barrier module is an electrical potential barrier, not a physical barrier.

The embodiment of the invention provides a method for removing defects on an extreme ultraviolet lithography photomask. The method comprises the following steps. An extreme ultraviolet lithography mask having at least one defect on the extreme ultraviolet lithography mask is received, in which the absorption layer and the pattern layer collectively form a pattern having a covered portion and an exposed portion on the capping layer, and the at least one defect forms a shaded region in the exposed portion on the capping layer. In the etch chamber, a directional etch process is performed on the at least one defect at a first acute angle to reduce the at least one defect located on the extreme ultraviolet lithography mask by etching the particles. The directional etching process continues to be performed on the at least one defect at a second acute angle to completely remove the at least one defect, where the second acute angle is greater than the first acute angle. The EUV photomask has the advantage that the EUV photomask can be quickly repaired without damaging the covering layer, the absorbing layer and the pattern layer.

Systems and methods for forming an antimony containing film on a substrate. Related structures and films are also disclosed. The antimony films are be formed by a plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition process. The antimony films can be utilized as underlayers in EUV lithography processes.

The application discloses a hydrogen curtain gas supply shunting device for a light source bin of an extreme ultraviolet lithography machine, and the hydrogen curtain gas supply shunting nozzle is divided into two paths by a partition plate, one path of the gas flow channel is outward, and the other path of the gas flow channel is forward; the outward gas flow channel generates a component parallel to a mirror surface of a collecting mirror and the component direction flows away from a symmetry axis and points to an outer edge of the collecting mirror; the forward gas flow channel is parallel to a symmetry axis surface of the collecting mirror and the direction is forward; the hydrogen gas flow of the outward gas flow channel removes tin drop residues adsorbed on the mirror surface of the collecting mirror near an inner edge; the forward gas flow channel balances a circulation generated by the aforementioned outward channel and prevents the generation of a backflow area, thereby avoiding the secondary pollution caused by tin drop debris carried in the backflow area and returned to the collecting mirror; and the application ensures the formation of a stable hydrogen curtain without backflow near a main focal point of the collecting mirror and avoids the risk of secondary pollution.

A method and apparatus for performing post-exposure bake operations is described herein. After exposure of photoresist on a substrate, the substrate is heated during a baking process to facilitate protection of the resist. The baking process is performed in a vacuum environment at sub-atmospheric pressures. After baking at reduced pressure, the substrate is cooled. The cooling process is performed at sub-atmospheric pressures. Further development of the resist is performed at ambient pressures.

The present invention is a pattern forming method using EUV lithography, the pattern forming method including steps of: forming a resist upper layer film on at least one surface side of a substrate; irradiating the resist upper layer film with EUV light; and developing the resist upper layer film to form a pattern, wherein a multilayer reflective film layer is disposed between the substrate and the resist upper layer film, and the multilayer reflective film layer has a structure in which two or more materials different in refractive index n at a wavelength of the EUV light are alternately laminated. The present invention provides: a pattern forming method and a laminate that can contribute to sensitivity enhancement while maintaining LWR of a resist upper layer film are provided.

The invention discloses an extreme ultraviolet laminated diffraction imaging method based on an iterative frequency mask. Comprising the steps that an extreme ultraviolet coherent light source is used for scanning and irradiating a to-be-reconstructed target, and diffraction intensity patterns of all scanning positions are collected; obtaining an initial probe function and an initial reconstruction target function according to the position information of all the scanning positions and the diffraction intensity pattern; meanwhile, an auxiliary variable tensor, a Lagrange multiplier tensor and an adaptive learning rate are initialized; constructing a multi-level spatial frequency mask; according to diffraction intensity patterns of all scanning positions, a multi-level spatial frequency mask is used for updating the probe function step by step from low frequency to high frequency, a target function, an auxiliary variable tensor and a Lagrange multiplier tensor are reconstructed, and the obtained optimal probe function and the optimal reconstruction target function serve as reconstruction results. The method has remarkable advantages in the aspects of reconstruction quality, convergence speed and robustness to low lamination rate and high noise environment, and has important application value for lamination diffraction imaging.

Methods, related structures, and related systems are provided for lithography, particularly extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. Presently disclosed methods can comprise forming a carbon underlayer having a high sp3 carbon content. Presently disclosed methods can comprise forming a carbon underlayer by a deposition process that comprises continually generating a plasma and providing a precursor in a sequence of discrete pulses.

A method includes irradiating debris deposited in an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography system with laser, controlling one or more of a wavelength of the laser or power of the laser to selectively vaporize the debris and limit damage to the EUV) lithography system, and removing the vaporized debris.

The present invention discloses a low-expansion glass-ceramic, a preparation method, and applications thereof. The low-expansion glass-ceramic comprises the following components by weight: 56-67% SiO2, 18-27% Al2O3, 3.1-7.0% Li2O, 0.1-0.5% MgO, 0.1-0.9% ZnO, 1.0-2.9% P2O5, 1.0-2.9% TiO2, 1.0-2.9% ZrO2, 0.5-4% Gd2O3, 0.6-1.5% SnO2, and 0.1-0.4% CaF2. The low-expansion glass-ceramic prepared by the present invention has excellent properties such as a low thermal expansion coefficient and good visible light transmittance. The low-expansion glass-ceramic prepared by this method can be used in the field of extreme ultraviolet lithography.

Provided is a glass substrate that reduces errors in the correction of thermal deformation.　This glass substrate has a rectangular main surface (MS1). When the main surface is divided into nine equal parts in a direction perpendicular to a first side (S1) and divided into nine equal parts in a direction perpendicular to a second side (S2), thereby dividing the main surface into a group of 81 rectangular regions (A11-A99), the rectangular regions, in the group of 81 rectangular regions, the centers of which are located on a diagonal line of the main surface passing through a first vertex (P1) that is an intersection point of the first side and the second side, satisfy expression (1A), where TZ11、TZ22、TZ33、TZ44、TZ55、TZ66、TZ77、TZ88、and TZ99 are zero crossover temperatures in ˚C, at which the thermal expansion coefficient of the glass substrate becomes 0 ppb / K, starting from the closest to the first vertex. (1A): (TZ11+TZ99)-(TZ22+TZ88)＜0.00

The present disclosure provides a method for a lithographic system that includes one or more thermal sensors that provide feedback to a thermal management controller. The thermal management controller provides instructions to thermal conditioning assemblies, such as heat exchangers and gas nozzles, to provide cooling of a reticle used in a lithographic system. Embodiments of the present disclosure also relate to a method of extreme ultraviolet lithography, a method of performing lithography, and an extreme ultraviolet lithography system.

The application relates to the field of projection optical technology, in particular to an extreme ultraviolet lithography projection exposure optical system and method, and provides an ultraviolet lithography projection exposure optical system which comprises a light field uniformity adjusting module, the light field uniformity adjusting module is respectively connected with a light beam generating module and a light beam shaping module in signal connection; the light field uniformity adjusting module is used for acquiring extreme ultraviolet light beam intensity distribution data output by the light beam shaping module; is also used for adjusting the output power of the light beam generating module according to the light intensity distribution data, so that the lowest light intensity in the extreme ultraviolet light beam intensity distribution data output by the light beam shaping module after power adjustment is not lower than a target light intensity; and is also used for adjusting the light transmittance of a gradual attenuation piece in the extreme ultraviolet light beam shaping module according to the extreme ultraviolet light beam intensity distribution data output by the light beam shaping module after power adjustment, so that the light intensity difference of any two positions in the extreme ultraviolet light beam intensity distribution data output by the light beam shaping module after transmittance adjustment does not exceed a difference limited range.

Photolithography system, comprising: a plasma generation chamber (101); a droplet generator (108) configured to deliver a stream of droplets (142) into the plasma generation chamber; a laser (102) configured to generate a plasma from the droplets by irradiating the droplets in the plasma generation chamber; one or more first charged particle detectors configured to detect the speed, intensity, and / or energy of the charged particles ejected from the plasma and to output first sensor signals indicative of the charged particles; and a control system (114) configured to receive the first sensor signals, analyze the first sensor signals, and adjust plasma generation parameters based at least in part on the first sensor signals.

A method of microfabrication includes forming a sacrificial layer over a film. A resist layer is formed over the sacrificial layer. The resist layer includes an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) resist. A pattern is formed in the resist layer by an EUV exposure and a wet etch followed by rinsing and drying, resulting in uncovered portions of the sacrificial layer. The uncovered portions of the sacrificial layer are treated. The pattern is transferred from the resist layer to the film by performing an etch process.

Devices and processes for managing electrostatic charge on lithographic photomasks for semiconductor fabrication are provided. Exemplary devices include sensors for measuring the electrostatic charge on a lithographic photomask and charge injectors for modifying the electrostatic charge on a lithographic photomask. Exemplary devices are capable of attaching to carriers for lithographic photomasks. Exemplary processes include measuring the electrostatic charge on a lithographic photomask, calculating the amount that the electrostatic charge should be increased or decreased, and modifying the amount of electrostatic charge.