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At this week’s SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference, nanoelectronics research center imec, Inpria, a company pioneering high performance EUV photoresists, and TEL, a semiconductor/flat panel display production equipment company, will present the first integrated patterning process for next generation high-resolution devices using a non-chemically amplified metal containing photoresist and EUV lithography.
The novel metal-oxide photoresist based process enables a significant process simplification and cost reduction compared to fab processes based on traditional organic EUV photoresists. The team transferred the metal-oxide photoresist process from lab to the fab, demonstrating manufacturing compatibility with standard fab equipment and excellent pattern transfer capability using ASML’s EUV NXE3300 full field scanner tool and imec’s integrated process line.
A negative tone metal-oxide EUV resist was developed by Inpria and integrated into imec’s 7nm BEOL process module on TEL’s etching system, more specifically as a block mask layer for metal patterning with pillar dimensions as small as 21nm. The intrinsic metal-oxide properties enabled the photoresist to also serve as a thin spin-on hard mask for the subsequent etching step. Moreover, because of the nature of the negative tone imaging of the photoresist, further simplification in the litho-etch patterning scheme is possible, as it eliminates the tone reversal scheme required by the conventional positive tone approaches for this block patterning layer.
About imec
Imec (imec.be) performs world-leading research in nanoelectronics. Imec leverages its scientific knowledge with the innovative power of its global partnerships in ICT, healthcare and energy. Imec delivers industry-relevant technology solutions. In a unique high-tech environment, its international top talent is committed to providing the building blocks for a better life in a sustainable society. Imec is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, and has offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, Taiwan, USA, China, India and Japan. Its staff of about 2,200 people includes almost 700 industrial residents and guest researchers. In 2014, imec's revenue (P&L) totaled 363 million euro. Further information on imec can be found at imec.be. Stay up to date about what’s happening at imec with the monthly imec magazine, available for tablets and smartphones (as an app for iOS and Android), or via the website.
Imec is a registered trademark for the activities of IMEC International (a legal entity set up under Belgian law as a "stichting van openbaar nut”), imec Belgium (IMEC vzw supported by the Flemish Government), imec the Netherlands (Stichting IMEC Nederland, part of Holst Centre which is supported by the Dutch Government), imec Taiwan (IMEC Taiwan Co.)and imec China (IMEC Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.) and imec India (Imec India Private Limited).
About Inpria
Inpria Corporation (inpria.com) is an innovator in extending semiconductor lithography through inorganic EUV photoresists for nanoscale patterning. Inpria’s molecular oxide materials offer customers the unique ability to deposit directly from solution with conventional fab equipment atomically smooth, intrinsically dense, and directly photo-patternable metal oxide films, enabling advanced performance with simplified processing.
About TEL
As a leading global supplier of semiconductor and flat panel display (FPD) production equipment, Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) engages in development, manufacturing, and sales in a wide range of product fields. All of TEL's semiconductor and FPD production equipment product lines maintain high market shares in their respective global segments. TEL provides outstanding products and services to customers through a global network of approximately 80 locations in 16 countries and regions in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
TEL (tel.com) is a trademark of Tokyo Electron Limited.
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hanne.degans[.]imec.be 
