Theoretical study of fabrication of line-and-space patterns with 7 nm quarter-pitch using electron beam lithography with chemically amplified resist process: V. Optimum beam size

Abstract

The high-volume production of semiconductor devices with sub-10 nm critical dimensions is challenging. We have investigated the feasibility of the fabrication of line-and-space patterns with a 7 nm quarter-pitch (7 nm space width and 21 nm line width) by electron beam (EB) lithography. In this study, the optimum beam size for the fabrication of line-and-space patterns with a 7 nm quarter-pitch was investigated from the viewpoint of the trade-off relationship between line edge roughness (LER) and sensitivity. When the peak charge was constant, the optimum beam size depended on the required sensitivity. When the total charge was constant, the beam size was required to be less than 1.6 nm for minimizing LER.