In 2000, Jack Kilby won the Nobel Prize for invention of the integrated circuit, an device that has spawned industries and changed lives for the better across the globe. At its basis however is a range of chemistries that are confined to astonishingly small dimensions and are remarkably precise, with nearly perfect yields and high reproducibility. The basic operation of a silicon-based transistor is understood, yet every year the technical challenges of making a device with increasingly small features challenges the global chemistry community and requires the invention of new tools and processes. This presentation will focus on recent developments of photoresists for next generation lithography using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelength radiation. A photoresist transfers information about the location of reaction chemistry and ultimately the design of a microcircuit by a radiation induced solubility change in a thin film material. At 13 nm, EUV radiation is not functional group dependent and common photoresist materials are largely transparent. As with every reduction in imaging wavelength (to further shrink the size and increase the speed of a processor) new chemistries are needed and in particular there is a strong push to develop new photoresists that explore more of the periodic table. Examples of new photoresists based on oxides of Zr, Hf, Zn, Ti, In and Sn will be discussed. For example, zirconium oxide nanoparticles forming sub 30nm line negative tone patterns at an EUV dose below 5 mJ/cm<sup>2</sup>, show some of the best EUV sensitivity results ever reported.  Related to new metal cluster studies, new metal elements have been incorporated into MOF-like resist systems to improve EUV absorbance for better lithography performance. In particular new zinc oxide units have shown better resolution than zirconium oxide nanoparticles. Improved mechanistic understanding derived from e-beam and EUV exposures will be discussed.

The chemistry of electronic materials: Small and perfect

256th National Meeting (2018)

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