Scaling-down lithographic dimensions with block-copolymer materials: 10-nm-sized features with poly(styrene)-block-poly(methylmethacrylate)

International audiencePoly(styrene)-block-poly(methylmethacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) block-copolymers (BCP) systems synthesized on an industrial scale and satisfying microelectronic's requirements for metallic contents specifications are studied in terms of integration capabilities for lithographic applications. We demonstrate in particular that this kind of polymer can efficiently achieve periodic features close to 10 nm. These thin films can be transferred in various substrates through dry-etching techniques. The self-assembly optimization for each polymer is first performed on free-surface, leading to interesting properties, and the changes in self-assembly rules for low molecular-weight polymers are investigated and highlighted through different graphoepitaxy approaches. The improvements in self-assembly capabilities toward low periodic polymers, as well as the broad range of achievable feature sizes, make the PS-b-PMMA system very attractive for lithographic CMOS applications. We conclude by showing that high-chi polymer materials developed in Arkema's laboratories can be efficiently used to reduce the pattern's size beyond the ones of PS-b-PMMA based BCP's capabilities. (C) 2013 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE