Leti presents latest R&D results

The ongoing collaborations with leading industry-equipment companies are designed to offer integrated circuit manufacturers complementary and/or alternative patterning solutions to 193nm immersion lithography and extreme-UV (EUV) technologies.

While 193nm immersion technology supports the industry preference for advanced-node developments, it requires a very demanding effort to ensure reliable process controls. EUV’s widespread adoption remains uncertain because its infrastructure still requires significant development and because of questions about its associated cost of ownership.

Leti’s lithography collaborative R&D programs cover three domains:
• IDEAL: directed self-assembly (DSA) lithography
• IMAGINE: massively parallel electron beam lithography
• INSPIRE: nanoimprint lithography

“Lithography alternatives hold promise for continued R&D because they may present competitive compromises for the industry,” said Stéfan Landis, lead author of the paper “Nanoimprint, DSA and Multi-Beam Lithography: Patterning Technologies with New Integration Challenges”.

“Massively parallel electron-beam and nano-imprint lithography techniques remain highly attractive because they can provide noteworthy cost-of-ownership benefits. In addition, directed self-assembly lithography shows promising resolution capabilities and appears to be an option to reduce multi-patterning strategies, and the associated high costs for mask-sets.”

A paper with STMicroelectronics and Arkema, “Advanced Surface Affinity Control for DSA Contact Hole Shrink”, focuses on efforts to resolve defectivity, a major challenge for DSA integration.

State-of-the-art DSA-related defectivity values remain at least one to two orders of magnitude higher than industrial specifications. The paper recounts Leti’s success at reducing defect density using a DSA graphoepitaxy process flow dedicated to contact hole applications with polystyrene-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) block copolymers.

In addition to its joint papers with partners, Leti will present one invited paper, four oral talks and four posters. It also has been invited to present a poster at LithoVision 2017, which is organised by Nikon. LithoVision is a technical event that precedes the SPIE conference and brings industry experts together to share a global view of lithography trends, challenges, and innovations.

Leti presentations at SPIE:

Invited paper
Advanced Etch Technology for Nanopatterning VI (Conference 10149)
Session 6: Novel Plasma Patterning Techniques
“Nanoimprint, DSA and Multi-Beam Lithography: Patterning Technologies with New Integration Challenges”
Paper 10149-20
4:10 pm - 5:50 pm
Feb. 28, Marriott, San Jose Salon III

Joint papers
Emerging Patterning Technologies 2017 (Conference 10144)
Session 3: Nanoprint Masks and Applications
“New 3D structuring process for non-integrated circuit related technologies”
Paper 10144-11
11:20-11:40 am
Feb. 28
Convention Center 210B

Session 5: Direct-Write, Maskless Lithography
“Overlay performance of MAPPER's FLX-1200”
Paper 10144-22
5:10-5:30 pm
Feb. 28
Convention Center 210B

Session 6: DSA Process and Integration
“Advanced surface affinity control for DSA contact hole shrink”
Paper 10144-23
8:50-9:10 am
March 1
Convention Center 220C

Session 11: DSA Novel Materials
“A track process for solvent annealing of high-χ BCPs”
Paper 10146-31
Time: 2:30-2:50 pm
March 1
Convention Center 220C

Session PSTue
6:00-8:00 pm
Feb. 28
Convention Center Hall 2

• “DSA Materials In-Film Defectivity Advanced Investigation”
• “DSA Process Window Extension Via Controlled Atmospheric Conditions Through Accurate Defectivity and Roughness Measurements”
• “The 300mm Evaluation of a 38nm Period Lamellar PS-b-PMMA for L/S Applications with Graphoepitaxy”
• “Rules-Based Correction Strategies Setup on Sub-Micrometer Line and Space Patterns for 200mm Wafer Scale SmartNILTM Process within an Integration Process Flow”