Belgian research lab IMEC has implemented a 300mm fab-compatible directed self-assembly (DSA) process line in its 300mm clean room, claiming it to be the world's first.
"The upgrade of an academic lab-scale DSA process flow to a fab-compatible flow was realised in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin, AZ Electronic Materials and Tokyo Electron," said IMEC. "Our DSA collaboration aims to address the critical hurdles to take DSA from the academic lab-scale environment into high-volume manufacturing."
DSA is a means for extending optical lithography beyond its current limits - a patterning technology that enables spatial frequency multiplication through the use of block copolymers.
"When used in conjunction with an appropriate pre-pattern that directs the orientation for patterning, DSA can reduce the pitch of the final printed structure," said IMEC. "Moreover, DSA can be used to repair defects and repair uniformity in the original print. This repair feature is especially useful in combination with extreme UV lithography, which today is characterised by local variation in the critical dimension, especially in case of small contacts."
The lab has demonstrated 14nm polystyrene lines on 28nm pitch after polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) removal fabricated by DSA using 193nm immersion based 84nm pitch pre-pattern, as well as the ability to repair a 200nm gap in the pre-pattern.