193-nm photoresists at 130-nm node: which lithographic performances for which chemical platform?

193 nm photoresists on the market today can be classified into three different chemical platforms. The first platform involves acrylate type polymers, the second one cycloolefin- maleic anhydride (COMA) type polymers, and the third one a mixture of both. In this paper, we present a complete review of the lithographic performances at the 130 nm node, for 10 different commercially photoresists, coming from the three different chemical platforms. The results include various criteria: linear resolution, depth of focus, dose latitude, proximity bias and edge roughness for 130 nm lines (various pitches from isolated to 1:1 dense), depth of focus for 100 nm isolated lines, depth of focus and dose latitude for 140 nm contact holes, PEB temperature sensitivity (CD variation vs PEB temperature), thermal stability (post development bake stability), exposure -- PEB delay stability. Also, pattern collapse tendency and etch selectivity to both polysilicon and SiO2 are presented. We then correlate some of these results to the thermal properties (glass transition and decomposition temperatures) of the materials. We finally conclude about the pros and cons of each chemical platform for achieving the 130 nm node requirements.