LITHOGRAPHY

Lithos stone + graphein to write Process invented in 1796 by Aloys senfelder , used inked limestone (used chemically treated stones affinity to water/oil affected by chemical treatment ) for printing images on paper . Lithography in MEMS Photolithography is the most widely used Widely used in IC industry for pattern transfer, for multilayered ICs, accurate registration and exposing a series of successive patterns. This is a 2 D process. What is the science involved? o Miniaturizing feature sizes. o Improving resolution. Pattern transfer by photolithography: Figure shows basics of photolithography and pattern transfer. Example uses an oxidized Si wafer and a negative photoresist system . Process steps 1. Oxidized wafer is coated with negative photo resist layer. 2. Exposure with a mask on glass plate, using UV light. 3. Wafer is rinsed in developing solution, to remove unexposed areas of photo resist. This results in bare and photo resist coated areas of oxide Note: Photo resist pattern now is the negative image of the pattern on the photo mask. 4. Wafer is placed in an etchant (eg HF or NH4F) , this attacks oxide, and not the photo resist. (Wet anisotropic etching) 5. After etching is completed, remaining photo resist is stripped off with a Strong acid ( H2SO4), this attacks only the photo resist , not Si or SiO2 Some Definitions of Lithography Critical dimension : Absolute size of a minimum feature in an IC (line width/ spacing / contact dimension) Overall resolution of a process describes consistent ability to point a minimum size image, a critical dimension under conditions of reasonable manufacturing variation. Resolution is measured by line width measurements, approximately 0.25m measurement precision of 0.02m (SEM , AFM) Resolution is the minimum feature size that can be transferred with high fidelity to a resist film on the surface of the wafer. A usual requirement during characterization: Tolerance 1/5 of the minimum feature size . Depending on resolution, different types of radiation may be employed in lithography Registration is a measure of how accurately patterns on successive masks can be aligned with respect to previously defined patterns on a wafer

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Throughput is the number of wafers that can be exposed per hour for a given mask level. Photochemical quantum efficiency of a resist from spectral response curve of the resist that is if the resist absorbs strongly in ranges where the radiation source shows strong emission lines relatively short exposure time is required. Mask is a stencil used to repeatedly generate a desired pattern and resist coated wafers is called a mask. Consists of optically flat glass / quartz plate coated with an absorber (opaque to UV) pattern of metal. (eg, 800 thick Chromium layer) Usually the mask is kept in direct contact with the photoresist while exposing to UV. This results in 1:1 image on the wafer (contact lithography). How is the pattern made (on the mask)? e-beam lithography (higher resolution patterns) Use CAD to make L-edit Use LASER plotter (resolution) Advantages of contact lithography Fast: capable of exposing the entire wafer at once Inexpensive: Mature technology Disadvantages Lowest resolution Pattern defects Mask wear due to physical contact between mask and substrate contact mask degrade fast. Other option? Non- contact (usually raised by 10-20m above wafer used for VLSI, (proximity mask) also called Soft contact masks. Hard contact masks are used in R&D Mask making Prototyping Contact and proximity mask printing together is called shadow printing. In Projection printing the photo mask is imaged with a high resolution lens system onto the resist coated wafer. Stepper photolithography uses a stepper mask, which is not in touch with the substrate. These can have good resolution (e.g., better than ~0.25m resolution is achievable) The imaging lens used here can reduce the mask pattern by 1:5 or 1:10, mask making becomes less challenging. Advantages Higher resolution Simpler mask design Superior alignment capabilities Cleaner than contact alignment Disadvantages Much more expensive equipment, complex maintenance requirements Lower throughput Resists Polymer (base resin) changes structure when exposed to radiation Sensitizer controls photochemical reactions Casting solvent allows spin application of this layer on the wafer. Resist tone : positive / negative Positive tone: Photochemical reaction weakens the polymer by rupture of the main/side polymer chain,

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exposed resist becomes more soluble in developer typically the development rate is 10 times faster as unexposed resist . eg: poly (methyl methacrylate) PMMA ; (diazoquinone ester (DQ) (20-50 wt %) + phenolic novolak resin N) PQN. Negative tone is more frequently used Exposed resist hardens by random cross linkage of main chains. Less soluble , since increase in molecular weight by UV exposure or photochemical transformation. Polymerization taking place at exposure, cross-linking of polymers adversely affecting the solubility e.g.: (single component) Bis (aryl ) azide rubber resist with matrix resin: cyclized poly (cis-isoprene) (a form of synthetic rubber) Bis (aryl) azide sensitizer loses nitrogen and generate highly reactive nitrene on exposure, Xylene is used as solvents for negative resists. (2 component) Kodak KTFR azide sensitized poly(isoprene). Resists are first applied to the surface by spin coating. Choice of negative / positive photo resist depends on application Eg: Resolution, ease of processing , speed , cost.

Positive and negative resist exposure, development, and pattern transfer. Positive resists develop in the exposed region. Negative resists remain in the exposed region.

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Typical negative and positive photoresists and their lithographic sensitivity

Other commercially available resists for optical lithography Resist Kodak 747 AZ 1350J Tone negative Positive

PR 102

Positive

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Comparison of traditional negative and positive photoresists

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Detailed description of steps involved in Lithography: Coating of resist. Involves Spin coating and soft baking. Uses a wafer with an oxide layer on top. 1. Oxide formation by heating the surface 900-1150C in steam or humidified oxygen stream, oxide serves as a mask for subsequent wet etching (Oxidation furnace) 2. Photo resist (usually an organic polymer) sensitive to UV is deposited, wafer is kept on a spinner (a vacuum chuck holds the wafer in place, spinning at 1500-8000 rpm depending on the Viscosity of the resist. Required thickness. film thickness uniformity of ~5nm is required for (1.5 m film) within and between layers. For ICs resist thickness :0.5 -2m Greater thickness required for 3D structures. Thickness optimization by Resist disperse rate. Dispense volume. Spin speed. Ambient temperature and humidity. 3. After spin coating , resist contains upto 15% organic solvent. This is removed by soft baking at 75-100C for approximately 10 mins. This step also Releases stress Improves adhesion of resist to wafer Process optimization by: Temperature profile Time/duration

Exposure 4. After soft baking, the resist coated wafers are transferred to an exposure system when they are aligned with the features on the mask. Exposure and post-exposure treatment A very good alignment is required. Usually an UV lamp is used to illuminate the resist Proper intensity Directionality Spectral characteristics Uniformity across the wafer Means of Exposure UV: Extreme UV (EUV) 10-14nm Deep UV (DUV) 150-300nm Near UV (UV) 350-500nm Typical: g-line: 436nm} h-line: 405nm} of a high intensity mercury lamp i-line: 365nm} Note: smallest feature size by projection lithography is the same as the of the UV source. When UV is used, typical resultion:~1m, registration~0.5m, throughput: 50-100 wafers/hr. Post exposure treatments: Post exposure baking. Flood exposure with other types of radiation. Treatment with reactive gas. Vaccum treatment.

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Development 5. Development transforms latent resist images joined during exposure into a relief image that will serve as a mask during the subsequent processing. (Development) Selective dissolving of resist. Wet development (by immersion or spray-for a fixed period in a developer bath) by solvents , makes use of o Variation in molecular weight. o Polarity changes. (Occuring while exposure ) o Reactivity changes 6. De-scumming and post-baking Descumming by a mild oxygen plasma treatment o To remove unwanted resist left behind after development. o Patterned resistances are also thinned during this process. Post-baking of wafer before subsequent steps (etching/deposition) o To remove residual solvents. o Annealing of film to improve adhesion o Improves hardness of the film. Post baking is also called hard-baking, done at 120C for approximately 20 minutes. 7. Etching of the oxide layer 8. Resist stripping Wet stripping complete removal of the photo resist without damaging the device under construction, use strong acid H2SO4 or acid oxidant combination: H2SO4 Cr2O3 attack the resist not the oxide/ Si , also in use : organic solvent strippers. eg: acetone. Dry stripping (ashing) Fewer disposal problems. More controllable. Chemicals used do not disintegrate with time. Doesnt cause undercutting/ broadening of photoresist features. eg: Reactive plasma stripping with oxygen gaseous chemical reactants (ozone) radiation (UV). Theoretical limits of photo lithography Factors affecting resolution : Diffraction of light at the edge of an opaque feature in the mask as the light passes through alignment of wafer to mask , non-uniformities in wafer flatness, debris between mask and wafer . For =400 nm, z = 1m, Resolution is approximately 1 m New generation lithography techniques In IC industry : Throughput, finer geometries and batch processing are necessities. In MEMS industry on the other hand, Modularity; Good depth of focus; Height of features; Use of non-traditional materials. So even if IC industry sticks to photo lithography, other methods will be required by MEMS industry. Extreme ultraviolet lithography X-ray lithography No need for vaccum.

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 Flood exposure is possible. X-ray has Shorter , larger depth of focus . Exposure time and development conditions are not stringent. High reproducibility. Immune to particle contamination. Diffraction effects are less, proximity masking can be used. Aspect ratio (height: lateral dimension) of up to 100 possible. Note: ICs require aspect ratios of 1 or 2. No optics involved. Features of X-ray lithography: Resolution~0.5m, registration ~0.2m Disadvantage: 1:1 shadow printing is the only possibility. No image reduction. Complicated mask production. e.g., LIGA (Lithographic ,Galvanoformung, Abformung) Involves thick layer of resist (m to cm), high energy x-ray, mould is made by resist , filled with metal by galvanizing techniques-resist removed. Charged particle beam lithography Electron beam lithography: Ion-beam lithography Emerging Lithography Technologies Embossing lithography (nano imprinting) Molds made by e-beam lithography Re-used several times Lower resolution Much higher throughput Stamp lithography (soft lithography) Probe lithography Self-assembly lithography Lift-off Technique Lift-off technique is used to define a structural geometry on a substrate. The process steps involved in this are schematically shown in the figure below. The positive resist is spin coated and then exposed to the radiation though a mask. A thin film of the desired material (e.g., metal) is then deposited on top of this structure by any of the processes. The resist can be dissolved in an appropriate solution, which detaches the film on top of the resist as well. The primary criterion for this lift-off process to be effective is that the thickness of the deposited thin film should be less than that of the resist. (b) Radiation (d)

(a)

Resist Substrate

Mask (c)

(e)

Steps involved in the lift-off process of patterning Film thickness should be smaller than that of the resist capable of producing high resolution geometries used for patterning discrete devices

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