Modeling and Simulation of Reaction Kinetics in Advanced Resist Processes for Optical Lithography

A general and comprehensive methodology has been developed for the characterization, modeling, and simulation of advanced technologies and complex resist materials for optical lithography. The foundation of this methodology is the new lithography simulation program, SAMPLE-ARK, which simulates reaction kinetics and diffusion, and their effect upon chemical species concentrations within the resist, during post-exposure processing. The implementation of fundamental mechanisms such as multiple chemical reactions, simultaneous reaction-diffusion, concentration-dependent diffusion, diffusion from outside sources, and multiple species dissolution rate expressions has resulted in a general purpose line-edge profile simulator that has demonstrated the capability of simulating a wide range of complex resist technologies including image reversal, chemical amplification, and silylation processes. In order to develop mechanistic resist models for simulation in SAMPLE-ARK, material characterization techniques have been evaluated and refined for monitoring the resist behavior during the exposure, post-exposure bake, and development steps. These techniques include measurements of optical transmission, FITR spectroscopy, and interferometry. New modeling software has been wriaen to facilitate the conversion of experimental data to mechanistic models. These programs range from quantitative FTIR analysis tools to parameter extraction routines for fitting kinetic models to exposure and bake data.