Intel Corporation

Rex K Frost

Swaminathan Sivakumar

Swaminathan (Sam) Sivakumar

Phi L Nguyen

Systems and techniques for accommodating diffraction in the printing of features on a substrate. In one implementation, a method includes identifying a pair of features to be printed using a corresponding pair of patterning elements and increasing a separation distance between the pair of patterning elements while maintaining the sufficiently small pitch between the corresponding imaged features. The pitch of the pair of features can be sufficiently small that, upon printing, diffraction will make a separation between the features smaller than a separation between the corresponding pair of patterning elements.

Accommodating diffraction in the printing of features on a substrate

The present invention relates to the reduction of critical dimensions and the reduction of feature sizes in manufacturing integrated circuits. Specifically, the method controls photoresist flow rates to develop critical dimensions beyond the resolution limits of the photoresist material used, and the limits of lithographic tool sets. The resist material characteristics are modified by exposing the resist pattern to either electrons, photons, or ions. The exposure modifies the glass transition temperature, cross linking characteristics, decomposition temperature, or molecular weight of the resist material. The post-exposure resist is then easier to control during a subsequent reflow process to reduce the hole size or line size of the patterned resist.

Pre-exposure of patterned photoresist films to achieve critical dimension reduction during temperature reflow

The present invention relates to the reduction of critical dimensions and the reduction of feature sizes in manufacturing integrated circuits. Specifically, the method controls photoresist flow rates to develop critical dimensions beyond the resolution limits of the photoresist material used, and the limits of lithographic tool sets. The post exposure and developed resist pattern is exposed to a solvent prior to a bake or reflow process. Exposure to the solvent lowers the molecular weight of the resist material, modifying the resist material's reflow rate. The post-exposure resist is then easier to control during a subsequent reflow process to reduce the hole or line size of the patterned resist.

Solvent vapor-assisted plasticization of photoresist films to achieve critical dimension reduction during temperature reflow

A mask pattern may be decomposed into two or more masks, each having a pitch greater than that of the original mask pattern. New, 'partial-pattern' masks may be created for each of the new mask patterns. The original mask pattern is transferred to the photoresist for the corresponding layer using a multiple exposure technique in which the photoresist is exposed with each of the partial-pattern masks individually, e.g., back-to-back in a pass through a scanner, to define all of the features in the original pattern.

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Hillsboro, OR, United States of America

Rex K Frost