A high productivity, low defectivity, develop process for 193nm lithography

Minimizing defectivity, improving critical dimension control and improving productivity continue to be key drivers for 300mm IC manufacturing. New and unique hardware and process solutions are required to meet both technology and production demands. IBM is evaluating a new and unique resist developer hardware process. The key elements of the new process are 1) the impact or contact of the developer is uniform on the resist surface, 2) defects due to slow dissolution and redepositon are reduced, 3) developer consumption is reduced up to 60% and 4) the process time is up to 40% shorter than common develop processes. This paper presents results of our evaluation of the new developer hardware and process, and demonstrates that this is a robust process exhibiting good CD control with low defectivity and high throughput.