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Lithography

Lithography is a process that transfers geometric patterns onto a resist-coated substrate through a mask. There are different types of lithography including photolithography, which uses ultraviolet light, x-ray lithography, which uses short wavelength x-rays, and e-beam lithography, which directly writes patterns using an electron beam without a mask. Each technique has advantages like resolution but also disadvantages such as cost or speed of the writing process.

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Manoj Murthy
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87 views24 pages

Lithography

Lithography is a process that transfers geometric patterns onto a resist-coated substrate through a mask. There are different types of lithography including photolithography, which uses ultraviolet light, x-ray lithography, which uses short wavelength x-rays, and e-beam lithography, which directly writes patterns using an electron beam without a mask. Each technique has advantages like resolution but also disadvantages such as cost or speed of the writing process.

Uploaded by

Manoj Murthy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Lithography

Meaning of Lithography
 Litho- stone
 Graphy - to write

 Lithography is the process of transferring a


geometrical pattern on a mask to a
radiation sensitive resist coated substrate
What is a mask?
 The stencil used to generate a desired pattern in
resist coated wafers over and over again is called
a mask. The mask protects selected regions and
exposes selected regions.
 Basically two types
- contact type
- non-contact type
Mask generation
 The geometrical pattern is first prepared in the
digital form in a computer program
 Commands from the computer drive a pattern
generator.
 The pattern generated is engraved on an optically
flat glass covered with a thin film of chromium.
 The opaque potion of the mask covered by
chromium prevents radiation from reaching the
resist.
What is a Photoresist?
 Is an organic polymer which is sensitive to
ultraviolet radiation.
 The principal components of a photoresist are a
polymer, a sensitizer and a casting solvent.
 The polymer changes structure when exposed to
radiation. The solvent allows spin application.
Sensitizers control the chemical reaction in the
polymeric base.
Types of photoresists
 Positive photoresists
- Exposed region is removed after
developing ex Polymethyl methacrylate
Negative photoresists
- Exposed region is retained after developing
ex bisazide rubber resists.
Photolithography
In lithography if UV radiation used then it is
termed photolithography. Mercury vapour
lamp with radiation wavelength of 300 to
400 nm is a popular light source.
The resolution achievable is proportional to
the wavelength of the incident radiation.
Photolithography Process
 Photo Resist Coating
- Photo resist is dispensed on silicon wafer
laid on a wafer platen
- The wafer is spun at high rates to make a
uniform thin resist coating. (2000 to
8000rpm)
- Uniformities of 10 Angstrom can be
achieved these days.
Soft baking or Pre-baking process

- After spin coating, the resist still contains


upto 15% solvent and may contain built-in
stresses.
- Therefore they are soft baked at 75o C to
100oC for 10 minutes to remove solvents
and stress and to promote the adhesion of
the resist layer to the wafer.
UV Exposure

- In the simplest form an exposure system


consists of a UV lamp illuminating the
resist coated wafer through a mask. The
illumination system delivers light to the
wafer with proper intensity, directionality,
spectral characteristics and uniformity
across the wafer.
Development

- Development transforms the resist image formed


during exposure to a image which will serve as a
mask for further subtractive or additive steps.
- The softened portions of the photoresist are
removed in the case of positive photo
resist(expoxed portions).
- Unexposed region are removed in the case of
negative photoresist.
-
Post baking or hard baking
- This is done at 120oC for about 20 minutes
- This removes residual developing solvents
- Anneals the films to promote interfacial
adhesion which has been weakened by
developer penetration.
- Also improves the hardness of the film.
Etching

- This removes unwanted material from the


substrates through the windows opened out
by developed regions of the photoresist.
- This step transfers a pattern of the material
layer on to the substrate
Various lithography Techniques
X-ray lithography
X-Ray Lithography - Pros

 • Shorter wavelength (0.4 – 4nm) than UV


 light
 • High penetration, high resolution
 • Minimum feature size around 10 – 20 nm
 • Simple process – can use both positive and
 negative resists
 • Essentially negligible diffraction
 • Longer mask lifetime than with
 photolithography
X-Ray Lithography - Cons

 • Very costly (compared to photolithography)


 • Requires special masks and resists
   X-ray absorbers: gold and tungsten
   X-ray membrane: silicon carbide or
 diamond
 • X-rays cannot be focused -> prevents the
 use of lenses
E-beam lithography
E-Beam Lithography - Pros

 • The pattern is written directly onto the


 electron-sensitive resist (no mask is used)
 • More precise than photolithography or XRay
 lithography
 • Used to make high-resolution masks for
 photolithography and X-Ray lithography
 • Beats the diffraction limit of light,
 minimum feature size around 5 nm
E-Beam Lithography - Cons

 •Very slow. Takes over 10 hours to scan


 across the entire surface of a wafer
 • Very costly. One e-beam system costs
 upwards of 5 to 10 MILLION dollars
 • Potential problems with electron
 scattering:
 – Electron energy: 100eV -> very slow,
 inefficient, damage the substrate
 – Electron energy: 10eV -> lower
 penetration depth and lower resolution

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