Lithography

Introduction
Lithography (or patterning) refers to the series of steps that establish the shapes, dimensions, and
location of the various components of the integrated circuit (IC). The current progress in IC design, with
the decreased dimensions (miniaturization) of the chip and increased density of transistors, is possible
only if smaller areas on the wafer surface can be patterned. This is primarily the function of lithography.
Thus, the success of modern IC design is due largely to lithography. This can be summarized in the
process goals

1. Create a pattern with the dimensions established by the circuit design.

2. Place the pattern correctly with respect to the crystal orientation and other existing patterns.

After the pattern is created, either the defined part of the wafer surface is removed (trench creation)
or left behind (island creation) or new material is deposited. Lithography is also used to expose
certain parts of the wafer surface for doping (either with a hard mark for thermal diffusion or with a soft
mask for ion implantation).

Process overview
For lithography processing, a hard copy of the pattern has to be first generated. This is called a reticle or
mask. The design on the mask has to be transferred to the wafer. The transfer can be 1:1 (i.e. with no
reduction in size) but usually the size is reduced so that the pattern is transferred to a smaller region on
the wafer. This is done by using suitable lens to de magnify the pattern. Lithography can be broadly
divided into two stages, each of which consists of several steps.

1. First, the pattern is transferred to a photoresist layer on the wafer. Photoresist is a light
sensitive material whose properties change on exposure to light of specified
wavelength. This process is called developing. The pattern formed in this step is
temporary and can be removed easily. This is especially important if the pattern is not
properly alignment with the wafer or with any existing patterns on the wafer,
improper registry.
2. The transfer of the pattern takes place from the photoresist to the wafer. Exposed
wafer surfaces can be etched (removal of material) or layers deposited on it. Dopant
materials can also be added to sections of the wafer through the pattern. This stage is
final and it is very hard to remove the formed patterns without causing damage to
the underlying wafer.

The overall lithography process is summarized in figure. After the pattern is formed on the
photoresist and the wafer surface is exposed ( developing process) the exposed wafer surface is
etched. It is also possible to deposit material on the exposed surface.
Figure: Overview of the lithography process. In this example, lithography is used to remove material
(etching) from the wafer surface by selectively exposing part of it.
Photoresists

The use of photoresists in the wafer fabrication industry was started in the 1950s. The technology was
adapted from the photo industry. There are both general purpose resists and resists for specific
applications. They are usually tuned to a specific wavelength. The components of a photoresist are as
follows.

1. Polymer - this is a light sensitive polymer whose structure changes on exposure to light. The
desired property is usually changed in solubility in a specific solvent.
2. Solvent - The solvent is used to thin the resist so that is can be applied on the wafer by a spin on
process. The solvent is usually removed by heating to around 100◦ C, called soft bake process.
3. Sensitizers-these are used to control the chemical reaction during exposure.
4. Additives- various chemicals that are added to achieve specific process results, like dyes.

Photoresists usually react to UV or visible light and hence these are called optical resists. There are also
specific resists for other type of radiations like x-ray and e-beam.

Overall, photoresists are divided into two main types.

1. Positive resists- on exposure to UV light these become more soluble

2. Negative resists- on exposure to UV light these resists becomes less soluble.

The difference in working of the two resist types is summarized in figure 3. Positive resists directly
transfer the pattern from the mask onto the wafer. This is because the mask protects the portion of
the resist below it from exposure to UV radiation. The rest of the resist, that is exposed, becomes
more soluble and can be easily removed. Negative resists, on the other hand, transfer the negative of
the mask pattern to the wafer. This is similar to the negative process in film photography. For negative
resists, the portion that is protected by the mask pattern is more soluble, since it is not exposed to UV
radiation, while the radiation hardens the rest of the resist.
Figure: (a) - (e) Steps in exposure of a wafer using positive and negative photoresists with the same
mask. The positive resist directly transfers the mask pattern on the wafer while the negative resist
transfers a negative of the pattern on the wafer.

SU-8 is an example of a commonly used epoxy-based negative photoresist. The structure of the
molecule is shown in figure. It is a viscous polymer based resist. When exposed to UV light of
wavelength 365 nm, the polymer chains cross-link making the resist insoluble.
Mask making

The mask contains the hard copy of the pattern that has to be transferred to the different wafers during
lithography. For a given integrated circuit, there are multiple masks, which have to be aligned for
proper device fabrication. Masks have alignment markers included with the pattern, which can be used
for this purpose. The mask material is made of borosilicate glass or quartz with a sputter
deposited chrome layer on top.

Figure: Process flow for the mask making process. The resist exposure can be through optical system or
scanning e-beam system. The mask making process is similar to the lithography process except for the
scanning optical (laser) or e-beam system.

Photoresist application

Before the lithography step, the wafer surface should be clean and defect free. Presence of
defects, before and after lithography, can affect the pattern transfer process and produce a non-
working device. The dust particles are removed prior to lithography, by washing with de-ionized water,
spin drying (rotating the wafer at few thousand rpm), hot nitrogen blow-off and a dehydration bake to
remove any excess water. The wafers are then inspected for defects and the process repeated, if
needed. The photoresist layer is then applied of the wafer. The resist should be uniformly spread on the
surface since any thickness variations can cause problems during developing and subsequent resist
removal. Typical resist thickness is around 0.5-1.5μm. Resist application is done by a process called spin
coating, summarized in figure.

Figure: Steps in spin coating to get a uniform layer of resist. (a) A layer of resist is first applied on the
wafer (b) The wafer is rotated at low rpm to spread the resist (c) The wafer is spun at high rpm so that a
uniform coating is obtained and excess resist removed

The photoresist is initially dispensed onto the wafer at rest, called static spin coating. Usually the wafer
is held on a vacuum chuck to prevent motion. The chuck is then slowly rotated to spread the photoresist
on the surface. This layer is not uniform. After that, the rotation speed is increased to a few thousand
rpm and the wafer is spun for few tens of seconds, so that excess resist is removed, and there is a
uniform film over the entire surface. The right amount of resist should be added, so that coverage is
uniform but not excessive. The final resist thickness depends on the amount of resist, spin speed,
viscosity, surface tension, and drying characteristics (solvent dependent).

Alignment and exposure

The alignment and exposure process transfers the pattern from the mask to the photoresist on the
wafers. Alignment markers are used to align the mask with the wafer and also to align one more masks
with each other. The pattern is transferred from the mask to the photoresist using steppers. The
transfer can be 1:1 i.e. direct transfer of the pattern onto the wafer. There are also reduction steppers,
where the reticles can be 5-10 times larger than the final dimensions on the wafer. In such cases, the
reticle is projected onto one area of the wafer and then stepped to the next area. The advantage is that
smaller dimensions can be achieved by using a larger mask.

The stepper can be of a contact type, where the mask actually touches the wafer or a proximity type,
where there is a gap. These types are shown in figure
 Figure 14: Types of stepper (a) contact (b) proximity.

Contact aligners can cause damage to the mask (since they have to repeatedly used on different wafers)
and have contamination issues. So proximity aligners are preferable, though there is a slight loss of
resolution due to scattering of light in the gap. Some sort of soft contact contact aligners are also
available.
 Photolithography
Photolithography is:

•Temporarily coat photoresist on wafer and Transfers designed pattern to photoresist

•Most important process in IC fabrication

•To consume 40 to 50% total wafer process time

•Determines the minimum feature size, e.g. 0.18um technology in 2000, 70nm technology in 2004

Applications of Photolithography

• Main application: IC patterning process

• Other applications: Printed electronic board, nameplate, printer plate

Photolithography Requirements

• High Resolution

• High PR Sensitivity

• Precision Alignment, say within 10% of minimum feature size

• Precise Process Parameters Control

• Low Defect Density

Photoresist

• Photo sensitive material, sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) but to visible light

•It’s why we use yellow light to illuminate and call “yellow room”

• Transfer design image on it through exposure and development

• Very similar to the photo sensitive coating on the film for camera

• Positive and negative types

Photoresist Composition

•Polymer
•Solvents
•Sensitizers
•Additives
Polymer

• Solid organic material

• Transfers designed pattern to wafer surface
• Changes solubility due to photochemical reaction when exposed to UV light.
• Positive PR: from insoluble to soluble
• Negative PR: from soluble to insoluble
Solvent

• Dissolves polymers into liquid

• Allow application of thin PR layers by spinning
• 75% of PR before spin coating
•Acetate-type solvent for positive PR; xylene for negative PR
Sensitizers

• Controls and/or modifies photochemical reaction of resist during exposure.

• Determines exposure time and intensity
Additives

• Various added chemical to achieve desired process results, such as dyes to reduce reflection.

Negative Resist

• Most negative PRs are polyisoprene type

• Exposed PR becomes cross linked polymer
•Cross-linked polymer has higher chemical etch resistance.
•Unexposed part will be dissolved in development solution.

Disadvantages

• Polymer absorbs the development solvent

• Poor resolution due to PR swelling

•Environmental and safety issues due to the main solvents xylene.
Positive Photoresist

• Exposed part dissolves in developer solution

• Image the same that on the mask
• Higher resolution
• Commonly used in advanced IC fabs
Requirement of Photoresist

•High resolution
 –Thinner PR film has higher the resolution
–Thinner PR film, the lower the etching and ion implantation resistance
•High etch resistance
•Good adhesion
•Wider process latitude
–Higher tolerance to process conditions like spin rate, baking temperature and exposure
flux
Photolithography Process

Basic Steps of Photolithography

1. Photoresist coating
2. Alignment and exposure
3. Development

Wafer Clean

•Remove contaminants
•Remove particulate
•Reduce pinholes and other defects
•Improve photoresist adhesion
•Basic steps
–Chemical clean
–Rinse
–Dry
Prebake
•Dehydration bake
•Remove moisture from wafer surface
•Promote adhesion between PR and surface
•Usually around 100°C
•Integration with primer coating

Primer
•Promotes adhesion of PR to wafer surface
•Wildly used: Hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS)
•HMDS vapor coating prior to PR spin coating
•Usually performed in-situ with pre-Bake
•Chill plate to cool down wafer before PR coating
Spin Coating
• Wafer sit on a vacuum chuck
•Rotate at high speed
•Liquid photoresist applied at center of wafer
•Photoresist spread by centrifugal force
•Evenly coat on wafer surface

Soft Bake
• Evaporating most of solvent (> 80%) in PR
• Solvents help to make a thin PR but absorb radiation and affect adhesion
• Soft baking time and temperature are determined by PR types and specific process
•90~110°C for 30 min. in oven; 10~15 min. for hotplate
•Over bake: polymerized, less photo-sensitivity
•Under bake: affect adhesion and exposure

Alignment and Exposure

•Most critical process for IC fabrication
•Most expensive tool (stepper) in an IC fab.
•Most challenging technology
•Determines the minimum feature size
•Currently 0.18 micro m and pushing to 0.13 micro m
Alignment and Exposure Tools
Contact printer
Proximity printer
Projection printer
Stepper

Exposure Light Source

Should have:
–Short wavelength
–High intensity
–Stability
Includes:
High-pressure mercury lamp
Excimer laser
Post Exposure Bake (PEB)
•Photoresist’s glass transition temperature, Tg
•Baking temperature is higher than Tg
•Induce thermal movement of photoresist molecules
•Rearrangement of the overexposed and underexposed PR molecules
•Average outstanding wave effect,
•Smooth PR sidewall and improve resolution
•PEB normally uses hot plate at 110 to 1300C for about 1 minute.
•For the same kind of PR, PEB usually requires a higher temperature than soft bake.
• Insufficient PEB will not completely eliminate the standing wave pattern,
• Overbaking will cause polymerization and affects photoresist development

Development
•Developer solvent dissolves the softened part of photoresist
•Transfer the pattern from mask or reticle to photoresist
•Three basic steps:
–Development
–Rinse
–Dry

Hard Bake
• Evaporating all solvents in PR
•Improving etch and implantation resistance
•Improve PR adhesion with surface
•Polymerize and stabilize photoresist
•PR flow to fill pinhole
•Hot plate is commonly used
•Can be performed in a oven after inspection
• Hard bake temperature: 100 to 130 0C
•Baking time is about 1 to 2 minutes
•Hard bake temperature normally is higher than the soft bake temperature for the same kind of
photoresist
Pattern Inspection
•Inspection, stripped PR and rework
–Photoresist pattern is temporary
–Etch or ion implantation pattern is permanent.
•Photolithography process can rework
•Can’t rework after etch or implantation.
•Scanning electron microscope (SEM) for small feature size (< 0.5 um)
•Optical microscope for large feature size
 ELECTRON BEAM LITHOGRAPHY

Introduction

Electron beam lithography (EBL) is a specialized technique for creating the extremely fine patterns (much smaller
than can be seen by the naked eye) required by the modern electronics industry for integrated circuits. It is derived
from the early scanning electron microscopes. The process of forming the beam of electrons and scanning it across a
surface is very similar to what happens inside the everyday television or CRT display, but EBL typically has three
orders of magnitude better resolution. The main attributes of the technology are
1. it is capable of very high resolution, almost to the atomic level;
2. it is a flexible technique that can work with a variety of materials and an almost infinite number of patterns;
3. it is slow, being one or more orders of magnitude slower than optical lithography;
4. it is expensive and complicated - electron beam lithography tools can cost many millions of dollars and
require frequent service to stay properly maintained.

The first electron beam lithography machines, based on the scanning electron microscope (SEM), were developed in
the late 1960s. Shortly thereafter came the discovery that the common polymer PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate)
made an excellent electron beam resist. It is remarkable that even today, despite sweeping technological advances,
extensive development of commercial EBL, and a myriad of positive and negative tone resists, much work continues
to be done with PMMA resist on converted SEMs. Fig. shows a block diagram of a typical electron beam
lithography tool.

Figure: Block diagram showing the major components of a typical electron beam lithography system

The column is responsible for forming and controlling the electron beam. Underneath the column is a chamber
containing a stage for moving the sample around and facilities for loading and unloading it. Associated with the
chamber is a vacuum system needed to maintain an appropriate vacuum level throughout the machine and also
during the load and unload cycles. A set of control electronics supplies power and signals to the various parts of the
machine. Finally, the system is controlled by a computer, which may be anything from a personal computer to a
mainframe. The computer handles such diverse functions as setting up an exposure job, loading and unloading the
sample, aligning and focusing the electron beam, and sending pattern data to the pattern generator. The part of the
computer and electronics used to handle pattern data is sometimes referred to as the datapath.

Applications
Currently, electron beam lithography is used principally in support of the integrated circuit industry, where it has
three niche markets.

The first is in maskmaking, typically the chrome-onglass masks used by optical lithography tools. It is the preferred
technique for masks because of its flexibility in providing rapid turnaround of a finished part described only by a
computer CAD file. The ability to meet stringent linewidth control and pattern placement specifications, on the
order of 50 nm each, is a remarkable achievement.

The second application is direct write for advanced prototyping of integrated circuits (2) and manufacture of small
volume specialty products, such as gallium arsenide integrated circuits and optical waveguides. Here both the
flexibility and the resolution of electron beam lithography are used to make devices that are perhaps one or two
generations ahead of mainstream optical lithography techniques.

Finally, EBL is used for research into the scaling limits of integrated circuits (3) and studies of quantum effects and
other novel physics phenomena at very small dimensions. Here the resolution of EBL makes it the tool of choice.

Elements of electron optics

The part of the EBL system that forms the electron beam is normally referred to as the column. An EBL column
(Fig.) typically consists of an electron source, two or more lenses, a mechanism for deflecting the beam, a blanker
for turning the beam on and off, a stigmator for correcting any astigmatism in the beam, apertures for helping to
define the beam, alignment systems for centering the beam in the column, and finally, an electron detector for
assisting with focusing and locating marks on the sample. The optical axis (Z) is parallel to the electron beam, while
X and Y are parallel to the plane of the sample.

Fig.: Schematic illustration of electron beam lithography. Electron beam is focused on a resist film to create a
pattern by exposing dot by dot:
In 1994 the Zeiss Company pioneered an electron optical setup which allows the use of low energy electrons both
for imaging and lithographical purpose. The electron optics in the Zeiss Gemini column handles electrons down to
energies of only 100 eV. The advantage of Low energy electrons can be two-fold:
 1. In imaging non-conductive material surfaces such as polymers, glass or ceramics the electrical charging of
the surface can be avoided with electrons less than 1 KeV energy. Around this energy the number of
incoming primary electrons and the outgoing secondary electrons nearly equilibrates resulting in a zero net
charge of the surface.
2. The low penetration depth of low energy electrons (approximately 50 nm / 1 KeV in organic materials)
favors superior imaging conditions for ultrathin organic layers. Under low voltage imaging conditions even
self-assembled monolayers can be imaged with sufficient contrast.
The electrons pass the column with an energy of more than 8 KeV in order to become less sensitive towards external
electromagnetic stray fields. Their energy is reduced to the low voltage with an electric field applied to the final lens
of the objective which is an electrostatic lens.

Electron sources
Electrons may be emitted from a conducting material either by heating it to the point where the electrons have
sufficient energy to overcome the work function barrier of the conductor (thermionic sources) or by applying an
electric field sufficiently strong that they tunnel through the barrier (field emission sources). Three key parameters
of the source are the virtual source size, its brightness (expressed in amperes per square centimeter per steradian),
and the energy spread of the emitted electrons (measured in electron volts).

Figure: Electron optical setup of the Zeiss Gemini column optimized for low energy elctrons.

The size of the source is important since this determines the amount of demagnification the lenses must provide in
order to form a small spot at the target. Brightness can be compared to intensity in light optics, so the brighter the
electron source, the higher the current in the electron beam. A beam with a wide energy spread (which is
undesirable) is similar to white light, while a beam with a narrow energy spread would be comparable to
monochromatic light.
An electron source is usually combined with two or more electrodes to control the emission properties.

Figure 6: Electrode structure and relevant dimensions

for a) LaB6 gun and b) thermal field emission gun.
 Electron Lenses
Electrons can be focused either by electrostatic forces or magnetic forces. Although electron lenses in principle
behave the same as optical lenses, there are differences. Except in some special cases, electron lenses can be made
only to converge, not diverge. Also, the quality of electron lenses is not nearly as good as optical lenses in terms of
aberrations. The relatively poor quality of electron lenses restricts the field size and convergence angle (or numerical
aperture) that can be used. The two types of aberrations critical to EBL are spherical aberrations, where the outer
zones of the lens focus more strongly than the inner zones, and chromatic aberrations, where electrons of slightly
different energies get focused at different image planes. Both types of aberrations can be minimized by reducing the
convergence angle of the system so that electrons are confined to the center of the lenses, at the cost of greatly
reduced beam current.
A magnetic lens is formed from two circularly symmetric iron (or some other high permeability material) polepieces
with a copper winding in-between. Fig.7 shows a cross-section through a typical magnetic lens, along with some
magnetic flux lines.

Figure: Cross-section through a magnetic lens with lines showing the magnetic field distribution.

Other optical elements

Other optical elements include apertures, deflection systems, alignment coils, blanking plates, and stigmators.
Apertures
Apertures are small holes through which the beam passes on its way down the column. There are several types of
apertures. A spray aperture may be used to stop any stray electrons without materially affecting the beam itself. A
blanking aperture is used to turn the beam on and off; by deflecting the beam away from the aperture hole, the
aperture intercepts the beam when not writing. A beam limiting aperture has two effects: it sets the beam
convergence angle [[alpha]] (measured as the half-angle of the beam at the target) through which electrons can pass
through the system, controlling the effect of lens aberrations and thus resolution, and also sets the beam current.

Figure: Cross section through an electrostatic lens.

Electron beam deflection

Deflection of the electron beam is used to scan the beam across the surface of the sample. As with lenses, it can be
done either magnetically or electrostatically. The coils or plates are arranged so that the fields are perpendicular to
the optical axis, as shown in Fig.(a).
Figure 9: Schematic showing the magnetic
(electrostatic) field distribution for a) simple beam
deflector or alignment device energized for diagonal
deflection and b) a stigmator.
Stigmators

A stigmator is a special type of lens used to compensate for imperfections in the construction and alignment of the
EBL column. These imperfections can result in astigmatism, where the beam focuses in different directions at
different lens settings; the shape of a nominally round beam becomes oblong, with the direction of the principal axis
dependent on the focus setting, resulting in smeared images in the resist. The stigmator cancels out the effect of
astigmatism, forcing the beam back into its optimum shape.

3 Electron-solid interactions

Although electron beam lithography tools are capable of forming extremely fine probes, things become more
complex when the electrons hit the workpiece. As the electrons penetrate the resist, they experience many small
angle scattering events (forward scattering), which tend to broaden the initial beam diameter. As the electrons
penetrate through the resist into the substrate, they occasionally undergo large angle scattering events
(backscattering). The backscattered electrons cause the proximity effect, (18) where the dose that a pattern feature
receives is affected by electrons scattering from other features nearby. During this process the electrons are
continuously slowing down, producing a cascade of low voltage electrons called secondary electrons.

Figure: Monte Carlo simulation of electron scattering in resist on a silicon substrate at a) 10 KeV and b) 20 KeV

3.1 Forward scattering

As the electrons penetrate the resist, some fraction of them will undergo small angle scattering events, which can
result in a significantly broader beam profile at the bottom of the resist than at the fxtop. The increase in effective
beam diameter in nanometers due to forward scattering is given empirically by the formula

where Rt is the resist thickness in nanometers and Vb is the beam voltage in kilovolts. Forward scattering is
minimized by using the thinnest possible resist and the highest available accelerating voltage. Although it is
generally best to avoid forward scattering effects when possible, in some instances they may be used to advantage.
For example, it may be possible to tailor the resist sidewall angle in thick resist by adjusting the development time.
(20) As the time increases, the resist sidewall profile will go from a positive slope, to vertical, and eventually to a
negative, or retrograde, profile, which is especially desirable for pattern transfer by liftoff.

3.2 Backscattering

As the electrons continue to penetrate through the resist into the substrate, many of them will experience large angle
scattering events. These electrons may return back through the resist at a significant distance from the incident
beam, causing additional resist exposure. This is called the electron beam proximity effect. The range of the
electrons (defined here as the distance a typical electron travels in the bulk material before losing all its energy)
depends on both the energy of the primary electrons and the type of substrate. The fraction of electrons that are
backscattered, e, is roughly independent of beam energy, although it does depend on the substrate material, with low
atomic number materials giving less backscatter. Typical values of e range from 0.17 for silicon to 0.50 for tungsten
and gold.
3.3 Secondary electrons
As the primary electrons slow down, much of their energy is dissipated in the form of secondary electrons with
energies from 2 to 50 eV. They are responsible for the bulk of the actual resist exposure process. Since their range in
resist is only a few nanometers, they contribute little to the proximity effect. Instead, the net result can be considered
to be an effective widening of the beam diameter by roughly 10 nm. This largely accounts for the minimum practical
resolution of 20 nm observed in the highest resolution electron beam systems and contributes (along with forward
scattering) to the bias that is seen in positive resist systems, where the exposed features develop larger than the size
they were nominally written.

4 Proximity effects
The net result of the electron scattering discussed in the previous section is that the dose delivered by the electron
beam tool is not confined to the shapes that the tool writes, resulting in pattern specific linewidth variations known
as the proximity effect. For example, a narrow line between two large exposed areas may receive so many scattered
electrons that it can actually develop away (in positive resist) while a small isolated feature may lose so much of its
dose due to scattering that it develops incompletely.

Proximity effect correction

Dose modulation

The most common technique of proximity correction is dose modulation, where each individual shape in the pattern
is assigned a dose such that (in theory) the shape prints at its correct size. The calculations needed to solve the
shape-to-shape interactions are computationally very time consuming. Although the actual effect of electron
scattering is to increase the dose received by large areas, for practical reasons proximity correction is normally
thought of in terms of the large areas receiving a base dose of unity, with the smaller and/or isolated features
receiving a larger dose to compensate.

Pattern biasing

In this approach, the extra dose that dense patterns receive is compensated for by slightly reducing their size. This
technique has the advantage that it can be implemented on EBL systems that are not capable of dose modulation.
However, the technique does not have the dynamic range that dose modulation has; patterns that contain both very
isolated features and very dense features will have reduced process latitude compared to when dose modulation is
used, since the isolated features will be under-dosed while the dense features will be overdosed. Pattern biasing
cannot be applied to features with dimensions close to the scale of the pixel spacing of the e-beam system.