Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 41 (2002) pp. L1342-L1344 |Next Article| |Table of Contents|
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Letter
Resist Thinning Effect on Nanometer-Scale Line-Edge Roughness
Kenichi Kanzaki,
Toru Yamaguchi,
Masao Nagase,
Kenji Yamazaki and
Hideo Namatsu
NTT Basic Research Laboratories, NTT Corporation, 3-1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan
(Received August 3, 2002; accepted for publication October 4, 2002)
The thickness dependence of the roughness of ultrathin (≦ 100 nm) electron-beam resist (ZEP520) was investigated using an atomic force microscope (AFM). The roughness (linewidth fluctuations of line patterns) increased with decreasing resist thickness, especially below 30 nm. On the other hand, polymer aggregates, which are well observed in conventional resists, existed in compressed form even in this ultrathin film. In addition, the dissolution rate of the resist tended to be faster with thickness reduction. Both the existence of polymer aggregates and the fast dissolution of the entire resist polymer possibly caused the larger roughness in the ultrathin resist films.
KEYWORDS:
ultrathin resist film, line-edge roughness, polymer aggregate, AFM, electron beam, dissolution rate, nanolithography
URL:
http://jjap.ipap.jp/link?JJAP/41/L1342/
DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.41.L1342
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