Extendibility of proximity x-ray lithography to 25 nm and below

Abstract

Extendibility of proximity x-ray lithography (PXL) relates to three technical issues. They are the minimum proximity gap usable for steppers, the maximum allowable gap by exposure methods, and overall blur effect. The minimum usable gap gs (μm) for steppers is presumed to be gs=W1/2, where W (nm) is the design rule (half pitch). The maximum allowable gap g is expressed as g=αW2/λ, where λ is the average wavelength and α is a coefficient, which depends on the exposure methods using 1× masks or 2× masks. In the article, we have verified the equation (g=αW2/λ) by simulation for one- and two-dimensional patterns, and determined the α values for each exposure method. For the blur effect, we evaluated the sigma values using a simple model. As a result, we concluded that PXL can be used by 25 nm and most probably by 18 nm design rule by changing the exposure methods corresponding to the progress of the design rule generations.