Enhancement of sensitivity and resolution by functional surface treatment process and primers (FSTP)

For EUV high NA lithography, current conventional tri-layer and tetra-layer process might face the critical issue both for EUV lithographic performance and pattern etch transfer. Especially since the latest EUV PR including CAR and MOR is very low film thickness around 10nm after development, the bottom under layer such as Si containing hard mask (Si-HM) or EUV under layer should be around 5nm FTK. In this case, it is too difficult to transfer to SOC or bottom hard mask layer. In order to prevent this critical issue, we propose new functional surface treatment process and primers (FSTP) on the conventional CVD and spin on hard mask. This FSTP is a spin coating material. However it is almost single molecular type ultra-thin primer (~1nm) for all of the CVD and spin on hard mask (SiON, SiN, TiN, SiO2, SiHM, SOG and so on) not to bother fine pitch pattern transfer. In our recent experimental, one of the FSTP has high universality to EUV PR CAR and MOR to achieve high patterning performance in EUVL. Moreover, the other one of the FSTP specially optimized for MOR process showed 20~30% dose reduction on inorganic substrate. Therefore FSTP has big advantage and potential in EUV lithographic process and pattern etch transfer enhancement for next generation High NA EUV process.