Unraveling Dose Reduction in Metal Oxide Resists via Post-Exposure Bake Environment

Researchers at imec have developed a platform called BEFORCE to investigate the effects of post-exposure bake environments on metal oxide resists (MORs) in extreme ultraviolet lithography. By controlling atmospheric conditions during post-exposure delay and bake, they found that optimizing oxygen and humidity levels can lead to a 25-30% reduction in EUV dose requirements. The study shows that oxygen concentration significantly impacts condensation and dose-to-gel metrics, with humidity playing a nuanced role that is interdependent with oxygen levels. The research highlights the importance of post-exposure bake environments in enhancing MOR performance and potentially revolutionizing semiconductor fabrication processes.