Latest results from the SEMATECH Berkeley extreme ultraviolet microfield exposure tool

Microfield exposure tools (METs) continue to play a dominant role in the development of extreme ultraviolet resists. One of these tools is the 0.3 numerical aperture SEMATECH Berkeley MET operating as a resist and mask test center. Here the authors present an update on this tool, summarizing the latest test and characterization results. They provide an update on the long-term aberration stability of the tool and present line-space imaging in chemically amplified photoresist down to the 20nm half-pitch level. Although resist development has shown substantial progress in the area of resolution, line edge roughness (LER) remains a significant concern. In this manuscript the authors further present a summary of recent LER performance results and consider the effect of mask contributors to the LER observed from the SEMATECH Berkeley MET.

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