Abstract
Most of the work currently being published treating improvements in depth of focus (DOF) deals with expensive or complicated techniques such as phase shift masks or lower wavelength illumination. In this article we show that there is another much stronger effect that needs to be overcome before the full benefits of the I-line lithography can be realized. A nonoptimized planarization process can have a large effect on the DOF of certain ‘‘marginal’’ contact sites. By using an enhanced planarization scheme we were able to significantly improve the DOF of these marginal sites yet retain process compatibility with the contact cleaning process and the charge retention requirements of nonvolatile memories. With this, we should be able to extend the minimum geometries printable with our current equipment from 0.7 μm down to about 0.4 μm.
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