EUV Resist Underlayer Film Composition for Line Width Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In EUV lithography, forming a thin, uniform resist underlayer film with reduced pinholes and aggregations is challenging due to substrate surface influences, and there is a need for improved adhesion and rectangular pattern formation with minimal line width roughness and enhanced sensitivity.
Innovation Solution
An EUV resist underlayer film-forming composition comprising an organic solvent and a reaction product of a specific compound with a diepoxy compound, along with optional crosslinking agents and catalysts, is applied to a semiconductor substrate, followed by baking and subsequent EUV resist film formation and exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a thin resist underlayer film is formed for EUV lithography, then the line width can be controlled at 32 nm or less, but the film tends to have pinholes and aggregations due to substrate surface influences
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the resist underlayer film by incorporating fluorinated compounds and adjusting the polymer composition to reduce surface tension and improve wetting properties. This allows the formation of thin films (enabling 32 nm line width control) while reducing pinholes and aggregations (improving film uniformity) through optimized chemical interactions with the substrate surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite material composition in the resist underlayer film, combining fluorinated polymers with specific additives and reactive components. This composite approach enables the film to simultaneously achieve thinness for precise patterning while maintaining structural integrity and uniformity through the synergistic effects of different material components that reduce defects like pinholes and aggregations.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional polymers are used in the resist underlayer film, then the film can be formed, but adhesion of the resist pattern deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the chemical parameters of the polymer by introducing fluorinated groups and adjusting functional group composition (hydroxy, carboxy groups). These parameter changes enhance the chemical reactivity and bonding capability of the resist underlayer film, improving adhesion strength while maintaining ease of film formation through controlled polymerization and coating processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The fluorinated polymer acts as an intermediary layer between the substrate and the resist pattern. Its specific chemical structure with fluorinated groups and functional groups serves as a mediator that enhances interfacial bonding, thereby improving adhesion strength while allowing straightforward film formation through standard coating methods.
3Manufacturing precision
If the resist underlayer film thickness is reduced, then EUV exposure performance improves, but the film becomes more sensitive to substrate surface conditions and develops defects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the surface energy parameters and chemical composition parameters of the resist underlayer film by incorporating fluorinated compounds. These parameter changes reduce the film's sensitivity to substrate surface conditions by creating a more stable and uniform interface, thereby enabling thin film formation for improved EUV exposure performance while suppressing defect formation from substrate influences.
Solution Approach 2:
The fluorinated additive components act as sacrificial or stabilizing elements that protect the thin film structure from substrate surface defects. These components are incorporated in optimized amounts to provide temporary protection during film formation and processing, enabling the thin film to achieve the required thickness for EUV performance without being overly sensitive to substrate variations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The composition enables suppression of line width roughness and enhancement of sensitivity during resist pattern formation, ensuring the formation of desired patterns with improved adhesion and reduced defects.
Implementation Method 1
a reaction product of a compound represented by formula (1) below with a diepoxy compound
Implementation Method 2
an organic solvent
Implementation Method 3
followed by baking
Data Source
AI summary
A composition for forming a resist underlayer film that enables the formation of a desired resist pattern; a method for producing a resist pattern and producing a semiconductor device, which uses this composition for forming a resist underlayer film. A composition for forming an EUV resist underlayer film, said composition containing an organic solvent and a reaction product of a diepoxy compound and a compound represented by formula (1). (In formula (1), Y1 represents an alkylene group having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms, wherein at least one hydrogen atom is substituted by a fluorine atom; each of T1 and T2 independently represents a hydroxy group or a carboxy group; each of R1 and R2 independently represents an alkyl group having from 1-10 carbon atoms, said alkyl group being optionally substituted by a fluorine atom; and each of n1 and n2 independently represents an integer from 0 to 4.)