Coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) in EUV lithography: LER and adhesion improvement

Spin-on underlayers are currently being employed by the lithographic industry to improve the imaging performance of EUV resists. In this work, multiple examples have shown improved line-edge roughness (LER) of an open-source resist using new open-source underlayers in comparison to a primed silicon substrate. Additionally, several experiments demonstrate better resist adhesion on underlayers that have lower coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE). Both organic and inorganic underlayers provide better resist LER when their CTE is lower.