Contrast And Sensitivity Trade-Offs Of Resist Processing In Electron Beam Lithography At 0.5μM And Below

Frequently occurring questions such as the minimum dose necessary to expose a resist system in electron beam lithography were investigated to determine the limits of resist performance at half micron dimensions and below. The processing window for exposing and developing resist coated wafers is presented as a function of the development conditions. Optimum exposure and processing conditions will be defined as these parameters relate to resist contrast. Several methods for fine tuning a resist process for electron beam lithography at 0.54um dimensions and below are presented. Various techniques are discussed which are used as variables to achieve the line width control necessary for multilevel lithography at ground rules of +0.1µm 3a for 0.5μm fully scaled devices and circuits. In addition, the intimate relationship of the resist contrast and sensitivity to the trade-offs of resist processing are also discussed.