Intermediate Lithography

There are eight integral process categories to consider in controlling feature size. They are: Substrate (type and surface preparation), Resist (type and characteristics), Resist Apply, Post-Apply Bake, Exposure, Post-Exposure Bake, Resist Development, and Masking (post development treatment, etch, ion implant and strip). This course looks at each category and discusses the impact that variation of the most critical parameters has on the lithography process, device yield and final device performance; then discusses useful ways to design robust processes, integrating each category's component with the whole of the process. Emphasis is placed on the chemical and physical interrelationships within the lithography process. Ways to monitor this critical relationship and ways of using it for process tuning will be emphasized for typical g and I-line novolak photoresists, and for the newer deep UV chemically amplified photoresists.