The patterning center of excellence (CoE): an evolving lithographic enablement model

As EUV lithography moves toward high-volume manufacturing (HVM), a key need for the lithography materials makers is access to EUV photons and imaging. The SEMATECH Resist Materials Development Center (RMDC) provided a solution path by enabling the Resist and Materials companies to work together (using SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (SUNY Poly CNSE) -based exposure systems), in a consortium fashion, in order to address the need for EUV photons. Thousands of wafers have been processed by the RMDC (leveraging the SUNY Poly CNSE/SEMATECH MET, SUNY Poly CNSE Alpha Demo Tool (ADT) and the SEMATECH Lawrence Berkeley MET) allowing many of the questions associated with EUV materials development to be answered. In this regard the activities associated with the RMDC are continuing. As the major Integrated Device Manufacturers (IDMs) have continued to purchase EUV scanners, Materials companies must now provide sc anner based test data that characterizes the lithography materials they are producing. SUNY Poly CNSE and SEMATECH have partnered to evolve the RMDC into “The Patterning Center of Excellence (CoE)”. The new CoE leverages the capability of the SUNY Poly CNSE-based full field ASML 3300 EUV scanner and combines that capability with EUV Microexposure (MET) systems resident in the SEMATECH RMDC to create an integrated lithography model which will allow materials companies to advance materials development in ways not previously possible. Keywords: EUV, Resist Materials Development, Full Field EUV exposure, Outgassing and Resist qualification testing. 1. Introduction Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography has made a great deal of progress since the Micro Exposure Tools (MET) were introduced in the early 2000s. In the last several years, SEMATECH has been able to forge relationships with materials manufacturers whereby the METs have enabled amazing photoresist advancements thus lowering the impact of photoresist non-readiness on the list of EUV technology introduction inhibitors. Specifically, imaging material manufacturers have been