Fullerene-incorporation for enhancing the electron beam resist performance for contact hole patterning and filling

The fullerene molecules such as C60 and C70 were incorporated in the commercial positive electron beam resist to investigate the performances for patterning and filling the contact holes at nanometer scale. The sensitivity, process window and contrast of the modified resist were improved, while the toluene dilution degraded the sensitivity. The electron beam dose affected the designed holes dimension, and the adulterated resist could print sub-50 nm holes pattern. We found the small amount (0.01–0.02% w/v) of fullerene molecules very effectively promoted the etch resistance and selectivity under fluoro-containing gases, and minimized the film stress. The etching resistance for C60 and C70 modification could be improved by 65% and 68%, respectively. Together with the fullerene-incorporated resist and the etching processes, the sub-50 nm contact hole could be achieved. In addition, the gap-filling and step coverage capability of titanium nitride into nanometer contact hole with chemical vapor deposition was better than physical vapor deposition.