Plasma etch transfer of self-assembled polymer patterns

Self-organizing block copolymer thin films hold promise as a photolithography enhancement material for the 22-nm microelectronics technology generation and beyond, primarily because of their ability to form highly uniform patterns at the relevant nm scale dimensions. Importantly, the materials are chemically similar to photoresist and can be implemented in synergy with photolithography. Beyond the challenges of achieving sufficient control of self-assembled pattern defects and feature roughness, block copolymer-based patterning requires creation of robust processes for transferring the polymer patterns into underlying electronic materials. Here, we describe research efforts in hardening block copolymer resist patterns using inorganic materials and high aspect ratio plasma etch transfer of self-assembled patterns to silicon using fluorine-based etch chemistries. (C) 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). [DOI: 10.1117/1.JMM.11.3.031306]