Enhancing the PMMA Photoresist Film via Ozone Treatment and Vapor Phase Infiltration

作者：Mingxi Wang, Miaojie Yu, Nan Guan, Yue Wu, Weihong Zhu, Yanqing Wu, Shijie Zhu, Renzhong Tai, Jun Zhao, Yisheng Xu · 发表于：ACS Applied Polymer Materials · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1021/acsapm.5c01036 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Semiconductor materials and devices、Advancements in Photolithography Techniques、Integrated Circuits and Semiconductor Failure Analysis

Achieving photoresists that combine low film thickness and high etch resistance while maintaining high resolution presents a challenging contradiction. Doping a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film with metal oxide was demonstrated to provide better etch performance, but the line roughness was significantly scarified. Herein, we report an efficient PMMA surface treatment followed by vapor phase infiltration (VPI) for greatly improved deposition of hafnium oxide (HfO x ). By treating PMMA with ozone and infiltrating it with tetrakis(dimethylamino)hafnium (TDMAH), a hybrid photoresist achieving 30 nm half-pitch (HP) resolution under extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) (74 mJ/cm 2 ) with enhanced etch resistance (>120% improvement) and reduced line edge roughness (LER < 10 nm) was realized. This approach provides a viable solution for next-generation lithography by enabling thinner resists without compromising plasma etch resistance, which is critical for advanced semiconductor manufacturing.