Nanometer scale pattern generation in deposited SiO2 with electron beam irradiation

Abstract

SiO2 films deposited by low-temperature plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) have been successfully used as an electron beam resist with nanometer scale resolution for the first time. In this paper we demonstrate nanometer trenches with feature sizes as small as 10 nm and periods down to 15 nm fabricated in LPCVD SiO2 films by electron beam lithography. These feature sizes and periods are comparable to those of the previously discovered lithographic process in thermally grown SiO2 [D. R. Allee and A. N. Broers, Appl. Phys. Lett. 57, 2271 (1990)]. Because the application of deposited oxide is not uniquely limited to silicon as is thermally grown oxide, this newly discovered process should allow the fabrication of a broader range of ultrasmall devices.