Radiation sensitive films

The resist must have suitable radiation sensitivity. Today s exposure tools are so costiy that tool throughput is a key measure of performance. The overall time to expose a resist film is the sum of the times to load and position the substrate in the exposure tool, to align the substrate and the mask, to irradiate the film, and to unload the complete part. In the optimum case the resist exhibits sufficient radiation sensitivity so that the fraction of the overall cycle apportioned to irradiate the film does not limit the number of substrates exposed in a given period of time. 

A photooxidative scheme has been developed to pattern sub half-micron images in single layer resist schemes by photochemical generation of hydrophilic sites in hydrophobic polymers such as poly(styrene) and chlorinated poly(styrene) and by selective functionalization of these hydrophilic sites with TiCU followed by O2 RIE development. Sub half-micron features were resolved in 1-2 pm thick chlorinated poly(styrene) films with exposures at 248 nm on a KrF excimer laser stepper. The polymers are much more sensitive to 193 nm (sensitivity 3-32 mJ/cm2) than to 248 nm radiation (sensitivity -200 mJ/cm2) because of then-intense absorption at 193 nm. 

Resist systems may be more complicated than just a single polymer in a single solvent. They may be composed of polymer, polymer/dye, or polymer/polymer combinations (where the small molecule dye or additional polymer increases the radiation sensitivity of the resist film) with one or more solvents. The more complicated polymer/dye or polymer/polymer systems have the added possibilities of phase separation or aggregation during the non-equilibrium casting process. Law (16 I investigated the effects of spin casting on a... 

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a classical one-component, positive resist system. PMMA is a single, homogeneous material that combines the properties of excellent film-forming characteristics, resistance to chemical etchants and intrinsic radiation sensitivity. 

COP, the familiar negative e-beam resist developed at Bell Laboratories, is an example of a one-component negative resist system. COP is a copolymer which has excellent film-forming characteristics, resistance to etchants, and intrinsic radiation sensitivity. 

It started from X-ray films and introduction of tritium film (increased sensitivity and removal of the antiscratch layer) and went on to the semi-quantitative analysis in the 1980s using densitometry. Finally quantification was feasible in the 1990s when digitized autoradiograms and radioluminography (RLG) were developed as a new method of radiation detection (Keiji Mori 1994 Steinke et al. 2000). 

The polymeric systems are usually composed of a polymer which Imparts the majority of physical properties and actinic additives. In simple systems such as curing films or electron beam resists, the polymer is also the radiation sensitive species. In most cases, the formulations behave simllarily in their response to high energy irradiation. Practically any polymer can be made radiation sensitive by direct exposure to ionizing energies or by formulation with additives such as free radical precursors. Thermally sensitive polymers are also likely to undergo a similar reaction when exposed. 

The increased interest in energy sensitive polymers probably evolves from the shortcomings of the conventional image recording media-silver halide emulsion. It is both difficult and expensive to apply emulsion films as protective layers or use as printing plates or etch resists. Synthetic polymers are one to two orders of magnitude less radiation sensitive than halide emulsion, but their unique properties of chemical and physical resistance easily overcome this disadvantage, ( ., Table IV). 

Radiation sensitive films are available from a wide source of cheap synthetic monomers or polymers. 

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