SPIE - Education Introduction to Microlithography: Theory, Materials, and Processing SC101

The course covers the physics of aerial image generation, the chemistry that is responsible for generation of differential solubility in resists, and the effects of processing variables on the final relief image. While optical exposure is the major focus of this course, electron beam and x-ray exposure are also addressed, as is nanoimprint lithography. The physics section provides an explanation for interference effects and their influence on the aerial image together with a look at aspects of wave front engineering techniques such as phase shift mask design. The chemistry section provides an overview description of the chemical basis for various resist designs, including chemically amplified resists. There will also be a discussion of methods for pitch multiplication such as Self Aligned Double Patterning, DSA, etc. The course also includes a discussion of the influence of material and process variables on the tradeoffs between resolution, line edge roughness and throughput.