Nanoimprint System for High Volume Semiconductor Manufacturing; Requirement for Resist Materials

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has been shown to be an effective technique for replication of nano-scale features. Jet and Flash Imprint Lithography (J-FIL) involves the field-by-field deposition and exposure of a low viscosity resist deposited by jetting technology onto the substrate. The patterned mask is lowered into the fluid which then quickly flows into the relief patterns in the mask by capillary action. Following this filling step, the resist is cross-linked under UV radiation, and then the mask is removed, leaving a patterned resist on the substrate. Criteria specific to any lithographic process for the semiconductor industry include overlay, throughput and defectivity. J-FIL technology requires a photo-curable chemical composition as a dedicated resist material which satisfies all the requirements of J-FIL technology. This includes jetting performance, resist spread and relief image filling, UV sensitivity, separation and post-process durability. Because the J-FIL resist material interacts much more strongly with the equipment via the mask than other conventional photo-resist materials, it plays a significant role in the overall J-FIL process and impacts criteria such as overlay, defectivity and throughput. The purpose of this paper is to describe the technology advancements made in overlay, throughput and defectivity and to introduce the FPA-1200NZ2C cluster system designed for high volume manufacturing of semiconductor devices. Included in the discussion are some of the key imprint resist characteristics that impact J-FIL performance.