Abstract
The lithographic characteristics of electron-beam (e-beam)-induced crosslinking of an epoxy–polynorbornene (PNB) mixture were studied in an effort to explore the feasibility of using this material as a high-contrast, high-sensitivity e-beam-imageable dielectric material. High resolution (for isolated lines) and e-beam sensitivity were obtained for specific mixtures of PNB– epoxy materials. The interaction of an electron beam with the PNB mixture, which includes epoxy cross-linkers, a photoacid generator (PAG), and a sensitizer, was investigated. The contribution of each of the components to the contrast, resolution for isolated lines, and e-beam sensitivity was evaluated. Cross-linking of the irradiated PNB polymer, by itself, was found to occur at relatively high e-beam doses. The primary route to high sensitivity was through epoxy ring-opening and PNB cross-linking by e-beam activation of the PAG. The effects of the post-exposure bake and aqueous-develop conditions on the lithographic characteristics were investigated. Physical structures with critical dimension of 100 nm to 500 nm were fabricated with line edge roughness of 13.5 nm. Contrast values as high as approximately 8 were obtained at doses as low as 0.38 lC/cm 2 .
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