Proximity effects correction for sub-10nm patterning node

In this communication, we report on our experimental results from the research focused on the application of the electron beam direct writing in the nanometer range. Special care is taken to analyze the forward scattering spread and its influence on the pattering fidelity for patterns with the dimensions in the sub-10nm region. We model, simulate and discuss several different cases of the strategy used in the pattern writing. The sub-pixel address grid is used and the energy beam distribution is analyzed with 1 angstrom resolution. The pre-compensated energy distribution is analyzed from its slope cross-sectional point of view. Additionally, the field factor correction (FFC) dose compensation, the correctness of the built-in FFC compensation for the sub-10nm regime, and its influence on the writing speed is discussed. We map the pre-compensated energy distribution used for the pattern exposure to the developed resist profile modeled by the spline approximation of the experimentally acquired resist contrast curve. The newly established development process for the hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) resist has been tested and applied in its optimal way. Successful sub-10nm patterning with the dimension controllability better than 5% of the critical dimension (CD) was achieved. The experimental setup use JBX-9300FS (used @ 100keV) as the exposure tool, and the HSQ (XR-1541) as the resist. The energy intensity distribution (EID) function used for the proximity effects compensation is calculated by CHARIOT simulation engine.