Theoretical study of low-energy electron penetration in resist-substrate target by Monte Carlo simulation

Low-energy electron beam lithography has a variety of advantages. The traditional electron scattering model consisting of Rutherford elastic scattering cross section and Bethe continuous slowing down approximation formula are not suitable for low-energy electron beam lithography. A more accurate physical model describing the low-energy electron scattering processes was proposed in this work. And Monte Carlo method was used to simulate the complex scattering processes of Gaussian-distribution low-energy electron beam in the target of thin film on thick substrate. The simulation results show that low-energy electron beam lithography has advantages of high throughput, low proximity effects and small damage to the underlying substrate. It is in agreement with the conclusion got from Lee et al¿s and Peterson et al¿s experiments.