An optimal high contrast e-beam lithography process for the patterning of dense fin networks

There are many difficulties to overcome towards the integration of 10 nm CMOS technology. One such major challenge is to keep a tight control of the leakage current of devices while increasing the current drive at a reduced supply voltage. In this context, multi-gated structures, which are used to control the transport in ultra-thin channel (e.g. FinFET), are a promising solution. A critical step during the fabrication process of a FinFET is the patterning of dense, high aspect ratio fins. High demand is therefore placed on e-beam lithography techniques to obtain narrow, sharp, densely packed resist lines. This paper presents a detailed study on the optimum e-beam exposure process using a negative tone e-beam resist, namely Hydrogen Silsesquioxane (HSQ). The impact of the pre-exposure bake temperature, of the Tetramethyl Ammonium Hydroxide (TMAH) concentration in development solution and of development time has been investigated. The standard process uses 2.38% TMAH as a developer, samples being pre-baked on a hotplate at a temperature between 150 and 220 °C for 2 min. By using a lower pre-bake temperature of 90 °C and a more concentrated TMAH solution dosed at 25%, a seven-fold improvement of contrast can be obtained in terms of contrast values. Cross sectional SEM views show fin networks with a pitch ranging from 40 nm to 200 nm. The line profiles are steep and an excellent uniformity is obtained across the whole network, even for lines located at the edge. Dense patterns are presented with lines as narrow as 15 nm and with a 25 nm space.