VLSI Technology

ECE 381
Fall 2017

Lecture 4
Photo-Lithography

Sameh A. Ibrahim
Ain Shams University
ICL
(Courtesy of H. F. Ragai, ASU)
Lithography

Stone= Lithos

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Photo-Lithography

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 Photo-Lithography Steps – Step 1
1) Oxide Growth

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 Photo-Lithography Steps – Step 2
2) PR Application
• Spin-on coating
• rpm = 1200 to 4800 rpm
• Duration = 30 to 60 seconds
• Thickness = 0.5 to 2.5 micrometers
• Uniformity = 5 to 10 nm

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 Photo-Lithography Steps – Step 3
3) Photoresist Hardening
• Pre-baking (soft-baking at low T) after spin-on coating
• Typically at 90 to 100 °C for 30 to 60 seconds
• On a hotplate or inside an oven

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Photo-Lithography Area: Yellow Room

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 The Photo-Mask

 A square-fused quartz substrate covered with a layer

of opaque emulsion or chrome.
 A single high-end mask can cost from $1,000 to
$100,000.
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 Photo-Lithography Steps – Step 4
4) PR exposure to UV light through the mask
 For contact printing, higher resolution is obtained but shorter
mask lifetime.
 For proximity printing, resolution is less but lifetime is higher
(Most machines have both modes).

quartz chrome 20 microns

400 to 200 nm

(Proximity Printing Mode)

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 Mask Alignment – Lab Model
Visual alignment
UV source of mask over wafer
UV exposure
window

Exposure
controller

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 Printing Types

 Contact printing
▪ Simple equipment (mask aligner) but practically unused
due to spatial non-uniformity of the contact and defects
appearing on both mask and PR.
 Proximity printing (a 10 – 50 µm gap)
▪ Simple mask aligner but less resolution due to light
diffraction.
▪ Both contact and proximity printing require uniform light
intensity across the wafer.
 Projection printing (see next slide)
▪ Larger separation between mask (reticule) and wafer
with image formation system including sizing, focusing
and step-and-repeat (stepper) mechanisms.
▪ Higher resolution than proximity printing but expensive
optics and stepper are required.

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Projection Printing (Step-and-Repeat Camera)
• Light Source
• I-line (365 nm)
• DUV KrF (248 nm)
• DUV ArF (193 nm)

• Reticle
• 10:1 to 5:1

• Reduction Lens System

• Step and Repeat

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Projection Printing Equipment

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 Mask vs Reticle

1:1 “parallel” printing 10:1 “serial” printing

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 Photo-Lithography Steps – Step 5
5) PR development then post-baking (hardening again)
 For positive resists, the exposed region can be removed (photo-
assisted de-polymerization) (The most common type)
 For negative resists, the exposed region can’t be removed while
the unexposed region is removed (photo-assisted polymerization)

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Positive or Negative Photoresist
Negative photoresist are:
• Lower resolution due to solvent-
induced swelling of exposed
regions during development,
which results in ragged edges or
a loss of pattern fidelity and
resolution.
• Less expensive.
• More sensitive  higher
exposure throughput.

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 Photo-Lithography Steps – Step 6
6) Etching of underlying oxide and PR stripping
 Note that the remaining oxide pattern has the same shape as the
mask drawing, that is why the resist is called “positive”. If the
resist is “negative” the remaining oxide pattern will be the
negative of the mask drawing.
 PR removed by a liquid “resist stripper” or plasma (ashing) like
dry etching.

+ve image of the mask drawing

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 Photo-Lithography Resolution
 Smaller feature size  higher resolution  shorter UV wavelength
(deep to extreme deep UV is shown here, other ’s are 546 nm E-line, 436
nm G-line, 405 nm H-line, 365 nm I-line,…)

Deep UV

Feature size
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 Feature Size Evolution and EUV

• DUV at 193 nm is still used for production. EUV has laser

source power problems.
• EUV is now targeting the 7 nm Node.
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Resolution Impairments

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 RET 1: Phase Shift Masking (PSM)

Phase-shifter thickness = /2(n-1) where n is the refractive index of the mask glass

 Benefits
▪ Smaller feature sizes
▪ Improved yield
▪ Performance boost
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Proximity Effects

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RET 2: Optical Proximity Correction (OPC)
 Done by tools at foundry
▪ Rule-based (Look-up Tables)
▪ Model-based (Simulation)
 Drawings on mask altered for
final drawing on wafer be as
designed
 Techniques include
▪ Adding dog ears (Serif and
Hammerhead) for outer corners
▪ Introducing mouse bits for inner
corners
▪ Adding scattering bars for
isolated features
▪ Moving edges Photolithography
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OPC Example

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 RET 3: Double-Patterning Lithography (DPL)

 Multiple patterning
used to enhance
feature density
 Mask is doubled
(DPL) to produce
double the
expected number
of features
 First introduced for
the 32-nm
technology node
 Gridded layout is
prefered.
LELE : Litho-Etch-Litho-Etch
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 DPL Example

1st Litho, 1st Etch 2nd Litho, 2nd Etch

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 RET 4: Immersion
• Air gap is replaced by a liquid.
• The liquid should have a refractive
index > 1.

• 𝒌 is a process factor.
• 𝝀 is the wavelength.
• 𝑵𝑨 is the numerical aperture of the
lens.
• 𝒏 is the refractive index (1 for air and
1.44 for purified water).
• 𝜽 represents the maximum incident
angle formed by the exposure light
with the normal to the wafer surface.
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 Other Lithography Techniques
Design Data

Pattern Generator

Direct Write
Mask
(Mask-less)

Light Ion Electron Electron Ion X-Ray Light

Wafer

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 Electron Beam Lithography
 Requires eb resist.
 Direct writing means no mask is
required.
 Short 𝝀  high E
▪ 0.1 nm  12 KeV
 Used in mask making
 Can be used in prototyping.

 Very expensive compared to

photolithography.
 Very low throughput (1-5 wafer/hr)
 All current technologies still use
photo-lithography.

Beam Diameter = 0.01 – 0.1 µm

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 Better Resolution?
 Higher energy causes EB scattering.
 Simulated electron trajectories for a beam of 100 primary
electrons
 Forward and backward scattering makes exposed region > beam
size.

At higher E, wavelength is shorter but scattering is larger and insulation is less

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 X-Ray Lithography
• X-ray  = 0.5 to 5 nm Mask problems:
1) No transparent material like quartz for UV
light !
Very thin carrier is therefore needed.

2) No opaque material like Cr for UV !

The masking layer should be very
thick (up to 50 microns)

3) No reticule is possible. Complete wafer size

expensive mask is needed.

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 X-Ray Lithography Uses

 Developed resist using X-ray lithography with deep

penetration and high aspect-ration 3D patterns
 Difficult and expensive to “mask”

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 Video of Photo-Lithography

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8wbQQC4MH0

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