Spin-on carbon using fullerene derivatives

Progress in lithographic resolution has made the adoption of extremely thin photoresist films necessary for the fabrication of '2× nm' structures to prevent issues such as resist collapse during development. While there are resists with high etch durability, ultimately etch depth is limited by resist thickness. A possible solution is the use of a multilayer etch stack. For organic hardmasks a carbon-rich material is preferred as carbon possesses a high etch resistance in silicon etch plasma processes. In terms of manufacturability it is beneficial to spin coat the carbon layer instead of using chemical vapor deposition, but the presence of carbon-hydrogen bonds in typical spin on carbon leads to line wiggling during the etch. We have previously introduced a fullerene based 'spin on carbon' (SoC) with high etch durability and reported on material characterization. Here we show recent advances in material development and work towards commercialization. The low hydrogen level in the material allows for high resolution etching without wiggling.