Coater/developer based techniques to improve high-resolution EUV patterning defectivity

Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) technology is one of the leading candidates under consideration for enabling the next generation of devices, for 7nm node and beyond. As the focus shifts to driving down the 'effective' k1 factor and enabling the full scaling entitlement of EUV patterning, new techniques and methods must be developed to reduce the overall defectivity, mitigate pattern collapse, and eliminate film-related defects. In addition, CD uniformity and LWR/LER must be improved in terms of patterning performance. Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL™) and IBM Corporation are continuously developing manufacturing quality processes for EUV. In this paper, we review the ongoing progress in coater/developer based processes (coating, developing, baking) that are required to enable EUV patterning.