Comparative study of SML electron beam resist characteristics with different developers

Abstract This paper reports on a comparison of MIBK/IPA (1/3), IPA/water mixture (7/3) and ZED-N50 as SML-600 developers for electron beam lithography (EBL). Patterns were exposed at 20 kV and contrast curve measurements were performed. We observed the influence of post-development rinse on the contrast curves, and we showed that ZED N50 is an excellent and high resolution developer for SML resist. Additionally, we noticed that the resist clearance of exposed patterns was completely achieved with ZED-N50 developers but difficult to accomplish with the two other developers. Therefore, the effect of resist residue on lift-off process was addressed. Finally, grating patterns were exposed to check the resolution and the aspect ratio of SML resist at 20 kV.