Introduction to Lithography

• Litho – Stone
graphy- writing

• In the context of nanotechnology,

the method is widely employed by
the semiconductor industry to
pattern the surface of silicon
wafers.

• Lithography is the process of

transferring patterns of geometric
shapes in a mask to a thin layer of
radiation-sensitive material (called
resist) covering the surface of a
semiconductor wafer.
 Moore’s Law
• Gordon Moore in 1965
predicted that the number
of transistors on an IC
would double every year
for the next 10 years.

• Moore's Second Law

states that the cost of
building a semiconductor
fab line is doubling every
three to four years.
 Clean Rooms
A class X clean room is
usually defined to be one that
has a dust count of X particles
(diameters of 0.5 μm or larger)
per cubic foot.

In a clean room, the total

number of dust particles per
unit volume must be tightly
controlled along with other
parameters such as
temperature, humidity,
pressure, and so on.

For modern lithographic

processes, a class 10 or better
clean room is required
 Why is it so important to study lithography
techniques…….
• Electronic and world economy productivity can be linked to
3O%/yr growth in IC productivity, half of which is attributed
to lithography improvements, as shown in Figure.

• Lithography consumes ~60% of the total time and ~40% of

the cost required to fabricate IC devices.
 Performance parameters
• The performance of a lithographic exposure is determined by three
parameters:

(a) Resolution: minimum feature dimension that can be transferred

with high fidelity to a resist film on a semiconductor
wafer, normally known by “Halfpitch”.

(b) Repeatability: measure of how accurately patterns on successive masks

can be aligned or overlaid with respect to previously
defined patterns on the same wafer.

( c ) Throughput: The number of wafers that can be exposed per hour for a
given mask level and is thus a measure of the efficiency of
the lithographic process. (80-120W/H).

The challenges are Mask cost, fabrication delay, and the cost of the instrument.
Optical Lithography
• Also called photolithography
• Optical lithography is a process used in
micro/nano fabrication to create pattern on
a thin film or the bulk substrate.
• It uses light to transfer a geometric pattern
from a photomask to a light-sensitive
chemical "photoresist", on the substrate.
 Process steps involved in
Optical Lithography
• Substrate preparation.
• Resist coating
• Exposure
• Development
• Pattern transfer.
 Mask
Fabrication
Surface
Clean PR coating Soft bake
preparation

Alignment &
Exposure

Post
Hard bake Development Exposure
baking

Fail
Inspection
Strip PR

Approved
Ion
Etch
Implantation
 Resist coating
• Resist
• A resist is a radiation-sensitive compound.
• Polymers that can create patterns by use of solvents
after irradiation
• Resists are tuned to respond to specific wavelengths
of light and different exposure sources. They are
given specific thermal flow characteristics and
formulated to adhere to specific surfaces.
• A positive photoresist - Prior to exposure, the photosensitive
compound is insoluble in the developer solution. After
irradiation, the photosensitive compound in the exposed
pattern areas absorbs energy, changes its chemical structure,
and transforms into a more soluble species. Upon developing,
the exposed areas are expunged.

• Negative photoresists are polymers combined with a

photosensitive compound. Following exposure, the
photosensitive compound absorbs the radiation energy and
converts it into chemical energy to initiate a chain reaction,
thereby causing crosslinking of the polymer molecules. The
cross-linked polymer has a higher molecular weight and
becomes insoluble in the developer solution. After
development, the unexposed portions are removed.
• For positive resists, the exposed region becomes more soluble and thus more
readily removed in the developing process. The net result is that the patterns formed
in the positive resist are the same as those on the mask. E.g. phenol-formaldehyde
or novolac resin.

• For negative resists, the exposed regions become less soluble, and the patterns
engraved are the reverse of the mask patterns. E.g. poly-isoprene rubber.

One major drawback of a negative photoresist is that the resist absorbs developer
solvent and swells, thus limiting the resolution of a negative photoresist.
 There are 4 basic ingredients in photoresisits,

• (a) Polymers : Polymer structure changes from soluble to polymerized (or

vice versa) when exposed by the exposure source. (+ve or – ve resist depends
on this factor).
Light sensitive and energy sensitive polymers: Polymers are groups of large,
heavy molucules containinbg carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that are formed
into a reparated pattern.

• (b) Sensitizers : control and/or modifies chemical reaction of the resist during
exposure
For positive photoresist – dissolution inhibitor which takes energy from light
and breaks down the cross links.
For negative photoresist, it is a material with N3 group which when exposed to
light liberates N2 gas forming free radicals which cross links. In negative resists
, sensitizers are added to resist either to assist or to narrow the response
range for a particular wavelength.

• (c) solvents: Thin resists to allow application of thin layers by spinning. This is
the major portion of the resist ~75% before drying. E.g xylene

• (d) additives: Various added chemical to achieve process result, such as

dyes. They are added to get a particular result. In positive resists may inhibit
the dissolution of the non exposed portions of the resist during the
development. In negative resists they may have dyes intended to absorb and
control light rays in the resist film.
Resists - examples
 Resist coating
•The wafer is placed in a clean room that typically is illuminated with yellow
light as photoresists are not sensitive to wavelengths greater than 0.5 µm.
•The wafer is held on a vacuum spindle, and approximately 1 cm3 of liquid
resist is applied to the center of the wafer.
•The wafer is than spun for about 30 seconds.
•The thickness of the resulting resist film, is directly proportional to its
viscosity as well as the percent solid content indigenous to the resist, and
varies inversely with the spin speed.
•For spin speeds in the range of 1000 to 10000 rpm, film thicknesses on the
order of 0.5 to 1 µm can be accomplished.
Spin Coating
 Soft baking
Soft Baking minimizes solvent concentration:
– Avoid mask contamination/sticking to the mask
– Prevent bubbling or foaming by nitrogen during
exposure
– Improve resist adhesion to the substrate
– Minimize dark erosion during development
– Prevent dissolving one resist layer by a following
during multiple coating
• 90-120 °C
• 2-3 min
Exposure
 Post Exposure Bake
• 100 – 120 °C
• Post bake temperature > Pre bake temperature
• Reduces mechanical stress formed during prebakeand
exposure of especailly thick resist films
• Improves resist adhesion and underetching in
subsequent development

http://www.lithoguru.com/scientist/lithobasics.html
 Development
The development step results in
dissolution of the ………….. photoresist
but not affect the ………….photoresist.
 Photoresist Profiles

(NPR)

(PPR)

(PPR)

Uploaded by Marc J. Madou: Researchgate

 Hard bake
• 170 °C
 Pattern Transfer
• Etching
• stripping
• Lift off/Deposition
Lift off
• The insulator image can be
employed as a mask for
subsequent processing. For
instance, ion implantation can
be performed to dope the
exposed regions selectively.
Figure illustrates the lift-off
technique. This method
suffices if the film thickness is
smaller than that of the
photoresist
Optical lithography-Types

The common point is condenser lens is parallel to the beam.

The key issue is Half pitch or The minimum feature size(MFS)

They depend upon
1.Illumination wave length.
2.Illumination method.
3.Resist used.
4. Materials of the optical system.
Resolution
 Other types of nanolithography
techniques……………..
• Scanning Probe techniques.
• Step growth.
• Nano imprint.
• Shadow mask
• Self assembly
• Nano templates.