Halogenated Metal-Organic Clusters for High-Resolution Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Resists

Abstract

The relentless drive toward miniaturization in the semiconductor industry demands photoresists capable of patterning sub-20 nm features for next-generation extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. Metal-oxo clusters, with sub-5 nm molecular dimensions, structural tunability, and high EUV absorption via metal centers, have emerged as promising EUV photoresist candidates. Advancing next-generation photoresist materials necessitates resolving the inherent trade-offs between sensitivity, resolution, and line-edge roughness. In this work, we report a series of halogenated metal-organic clusters based EUVL photoresists, aiming to modulate the sensitivity, resolution, and line-edge roughness. Here, we report the synthesis of halogenated metal-organic clusters as EUVL photoresists, designed to modulate the resolution-line edge roughness-sensitivity trade-off. Sub-20 nm critical dimensions and line edge roughness below 2 nm were achieved with the clusters by EUVL. The results demonstrated that halogen elements influenced the sensitivity of the clusters. To unravel the EUV-driven reaction pathways, we analyzed the chemical transformations in these clusters after exposure using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. These findings pave the way for the rational design of high-performance EUV photoresists.

Keywords

Extreme ultraviolet lithography / E-beam lithography / Photoresists / Metal-oxo clusters / Ceric-oxo clusters / Halogenated compounds / Lithographic process / Semiconductor manufacturing

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2025 SIOC, CAS, Shanghai, & WILEY-VCH GmbH