Possibility of Forming 18-nm-Pitch Ultrahigh Density Fine Dot Arrays for 2 Tbit/in.2 Patterned Media Using 30-keV Electron Beam Lithography

Abstract

We studied the possibility of forming ultrahigh-density fine dot arrays using 30-keV electron beam (EB) drawing for 2 Tbit/in.2 patterned media. We investigated the effects of calixarene resist thickness and exposure dosage on the drawing of dot arrays with a minimum pitch. We found that the 13-nm-thick calixarene resist was very suitable for forming resist dot arrays with a pitch of 20 nm. Furthermore, the allowable region of proper exposure dosage became narrow as the pitch decreased. It is clarified that there exists a minimum pitch of 18 nm in drawing ultrahigh density fine dot arrays with a 13-nm-thick resist.