US20150380260A1 - Semiconductor structures including self-assembled polymer domains registered to the underlying self-assembled polymer domains, templates comprising the same, and methods of forming the same - Google Patents
Semiconductor structures including self-assembled polymer domains registered to the underlying self-assembled polymer domains, templates comprising the same, and methods of forming the same Download PDFInfo
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- US20150380260A1 US20150380260A1 US14/851,494 US201514851494A US2015380260A1 US 20150380260 A1 US20150380260 A1 US 20150380260A1 US 201514851494 A US201514851494 A US 201514851494A US 2015380260 A1 US2015380260 A1 US 2015380260A1
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- H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic System or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
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- H01L21/0337—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34 comprising inorganic layers characterised by their size, orientation, disposition, behaviour, shape, in horizontal or vertical plane characterised by the process involved to create the mask, e.g. lift-off masks, sidewalls, or to modify the mask, e.g. pre-treatment, post-treatment
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- H01L21/71—Manufacture of specific parts of devices defined in group H01L21/70
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Definitions
- Embodiments of the invention relate to methods of fabricating nanoscale arrays of micro-vias, microchannels and microstructures by use of thin films of self-assembling block copolymers, and devices resulting from those methods.
- diblock copolymer films spontaneously assembly into periodic structures by microphase separation of the constituent polymer blocks after annealing, for example, by thermal annealing above the glass transition temperature of the polymer or by solvent annealing, forming ordered domains at nanometer-scale dimensions.
- one block of the copolymer can be selectively removed and the remaining patterned film used as an etch mask for patterning nanosized features into the underlying substrate. Since the domain sizes and periods (L o ) involved in this method are determined by the chain length of a block copolymer (MW), resolution can exceed other techniques such as conventional photolithography, while the cost of the technique is far less than electron beam lithography or EUV photolithography, which have comparable resolution.
- the film morphology including the size and shape of the microphase-separated domains, can be controlled by the molecular weight and volume fraction of the AB blocks of a diblock copolymer to produce lamellar, cylindrical, or spherical morphologies, among others.
- a block copolymer film will microphase separate and self-assemble into a periodic spherical domains with spheres of polymer B surrounded by a matrix of polymer A.
- the diblock copolymer For ratios of the two blocks between about 60:40 and 80:20, the diblock copolymer assembles into a periodic hexagonal close-packed or honeycomb array of cylinders of polymer B within a matrix of polymer A. For ratios between about 50:50 and 60:40, lamellar domains or alternating stripes of the blocks are formed. Domain size typically ranges from 5-50 nm.
- Diblock copolymer thin films of cylindrical and lamellar phases may both form striped phases relative to an interface.
- a striped pattern results from parallel cylinder orientation
- lamellar phase films a striped pattern results from perpendicular domain orientation.
- perpendicular-oriented lamellae and parallel-oriented cylinders appear similar, e.g., as parallel lines.
- Graphoepitaxy techniques using defined topography such as trench edges have been used in an attempt to orient and order copolymer domains and control registration and alignment of the self-assembled blocks to form a desired pattern.
- FIG. 1 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of a substrate at a preliminary processing stage according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, showing the substrate with a trench.
- FIGS. 1A and 1B are elevational, cross-sectional views of embodiments of the substrate depicted in FIG. 1 taken along line 1 A/ 1 B- 1 A/ 1 B.
- FIGS. 2-5 illustrate diagrammatic top plan views of the substrate of FIG. 1 at various stages of the fabrication of a self-assembled block copolymer film according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIGS. 2A-5A illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of embodiments of a portion of the substrate depicted in FIGS. 2-5 taken, respectively, along line 2 A- 2 A to line 5 A- 5 A.
- FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of the substrate depicted in FIG. 5A , in subsequent stages.
- FIG. 8 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of the substrate of FIG. 7 at a subsequent stage.
- FIG. 8A is an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted in FIG. 8 taken along line 8 A- 8 A.
- FIG. 8B is a view of FIG. 8A in a subsequent processing step.
- FIG. 9 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of a substrate at a preliminary processing stage according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, showing the substrate with a trench.
- FIG. 9A is an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted in FIG. 9 taken along line 9 A- 9 A.
- FIGS. 10-13 illustrate diagrammatic top plan views of the substrate of FIG. 9 at various stages of the fabrication of a self-assembled block copolymer film according to an embodiment of the present disclosure utilizing a cylindrical-phase block copolymer for the base film.
- FIGS. 10A-13A illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of embodiments of a portion of the substrate depicted in FIGS. 10-13 taken, respectively, along line 10 A- 10 A to line 13 A- 13 A.
- FIGS. 14-17 illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of the substrate depicted in FIG. 13A , in subsequent stages.
- FIG. 17 illustrates an intermediate structure showing the removal of half-cylindrical domains of the base layer.
- FIG. 18 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of the substrate of FIG. 17 at a subsequent stage.
- FIG. 18A illustrates an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted in FIG. 18 taken along line 18 A- 18 A.
- FIG. 18B is a view of FIG. 18A in a subsequent processing step.
- FIGS. 19-21 illustrate diagrammatic top plan views of the substrate of FIG. 1 at various stages of the fabrication of a self-assembled block copolymer film according to another embodiment of the present disclosure utilizing a cylindrical-phase block copolymer for the base film.
- FIGS. 19A-21A illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of embodiments of a portion of the substrate depicted in FIGS. 19-21 taken, respectively, along line 19 A- 19 A to line 21 A- 21 A.
- FIGS. 22 and 23 illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of the substrate depicted in FIG. 21A , in subsequent stages.
- FIG. 24 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of the substrate of FIG. 23 showing the removal of cylindrical domains at a subsequent stage according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 24A illustrates an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted in FIG. 24 taken along line 24 A- 24 A.
- FIG. 24B is a view of FIG. 24A in a subsequent processing step.
- FIG. 25 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of the substrate of FIG. 24 showing the removal of the matrix domain at a subsequent stage according to another embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 25A illustrates an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted in FIG. 25 taken along line 25 A- 25 A.
- FIG. 25B is a view of FIG. 25A in a subsequent processing step.
- FIG. 26 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of the substrate of FIG. 1 at a subsequent stage of the fabrication of a self-assembled block copolymer film according to another embodiment of the present disclosure utilizing a cylindrical-phase block copolymer for the base film.
- FIG. 26A illustrates an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted in FIG. 26 taken along line 26 A- 26 A.
- FIGS. 27-30 illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of the substrate depicted in FIG. 26A , in subsequent stages.
- FIG. 31 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of the substrate of FIG. 30 showing the removal of cylindrical domains at a subsequent stage according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 31A illustrates an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted in FIG. 31 taken along line 31 A- 31 A.
- FIG. 31B is a view of FIG. 31A in a subsequent processing step.
- FIG. 32 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of the substrate of FIG. 30 showing the removal of the matrix domain at a subsequent stage according to another embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 32A illustrates an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted in FIG. 32 taken along line 32 A- 32 A.
- FIG. 32B is a view of FIG. 32A in a subsequent processing step.
- semiconductor substrate or “semiconductive substrate” or “semiconductive wafer fragment” or “wafer fragment” or “wafer” will be understood to mean any construction comprising semiconductor material, including but not limited to bulk semiconductive materials such as a semiconductor wafer (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials thereon), and semiconductive material layers (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials).
- substrate refers to any supporting structure including, but not limited to, the semiconductive substrates, wafer fragments or wafers described above.
- “L o ” is the inherent pitch (bulk period or repeat unit) of structures that self-assemble upon annealing from a self-assembling (SA) block copolymer or a blend of a block copolymer with one or more of its constituent homopolymers.
- SA self-assembling
- Processing conditions of embodiments of the invention use a graphoepitaxy technique utilizing the sidewalls of trenches as constraints to induce orientation and registration of a first film of a self-assembling diblock copolymer to form an ordered array pattern registered to the trench sidewalls.
- the first polymer film is then used as a template or base layer for inducing the ordering of a subsequently deposited block copolymer film such that, upon annealing, the polymer domains orient and are registered to the underlying structures, resulting in a stacked double- or multi-layered structure with like polymer domains registered to each other.
- the procedure can be repeated as needed to achieve a desired structure pattern of a required dimension in the z-axis direction.
- the desired patterned can be selectively etched by methods known in the art, and the resulting template structures can be used to prepare features within a substrate.
- FIGS. 1-8 Steps in a method for fabricating thin films from self-assembling (SA) block copolymers that define nanometer-scale linear array patterns according to embodiments of the invention are illustrated in FIGS. 1-8 .
- SA self-assembling
- the method forms a multi-layer pattern within trenches by forming a polymer base film or template with ordered structures within the trenches for inducing the ordering of an overlying lamellar phase block copolymer film such that the lamellar domains are oriented perpendicularly and registered to the underlying assembled domains of the base film.
- the base layer within the trenches can be formed from a lamellar-phase block copolymer film, which upon annealing forms a registered lamellar array of alternating polymer-rich blocks that extend the length and are oriented parallel to the sidewalls and perpendicular to the floor of the trenches.
- the base layer is formed from a cylindrical-phase block copolymer material which, upon annealing, forms lines of half-cylinders in a polymer matrix extending the length and oriented parallel to the sidewalls and floor of the trenches.
- the assembled base film can then be used as a template for inducing the ordering of an overlying lamellar-phase block copolymer film such that the lamellar domains of the annealed film are oriented perpendicularly and registered to the underlying pattern of the base film within the trenches.
- the surface of the sidewalls and edges of the trenches are preferential wetting by one block of the copolymer and the trench floors are neutral wetting (equal affinity for both blocks of the copolymer) to allow both blocks of the copolymer material to wet the floor of the trench.
- Entropic forces drive the wetting of a neutral wetting surface by both blocks, resulting in the formation of a layer of perpendicular lamellae across the width of each trench.
- a substrate 10 is provided bearing a neutral wetting surface.
- the substrate 10 can comprise, for example, silicon (with native oxide), oxide (e.g., silicon oxide, SiO x ) or an inorganic film.
- a neutral wetting layer 12 is formed on the substrate 10 prior to forming an overlying material layer 14 (e.g., oxide).
- Etching through the material layer 14 to form a trench 16 exposes the underlying neutral wetting layer 12 as a floor or bottom surface 18 of the trench 16 .
- Adjacent trenches are separated by a spacer or crest 20 .
- the trench 16 is structured with opposing sidewalls 22 , opposing ends 24 , a width (w t ), a length (l t ) and a depth (D t ).
- a neutral wetting surface can be provided, for example, by applying a neutral wetting polymer to form layer 12 on the surface of the substrate 10 .
- a neutral wetting polymer for example, by applying a neutral wetting polymer to form layer 12 on the surface of the substrate 10 .
- SA self-assembling
- PS-r-PMMA random PS:PMMA copolymer brush layer
- the brush can be affixed by grafting (on an oxide substrate) or by cross-linking (any surface) using UV radiation or thermal processing.
- a random copolymer solution composed of PS and PMMA with hydroxyl group(s) can be applied to the surface of the substrate 10 as a layer about 5-10 nm thick and grafted by heating at about 160° C. for about 48 hours.
- a surface that is neutral wetting to PS-b-PMMA can be prepared by spin coating a blanket layer of a photo- or thermally cross-linkable random copolymer such as a benzocyclobutene- or azidomethylstyrene-functionalized random copolymer of styrene and methyl methacrylate (e.g., poly(styrene-r-benzocyclobutene-r-methyl methacrylate (PS-r-PMMA-r-BCB) onto the surface of the substrate 10 prior to forming the material layer 14 .
- a photo- or thermally cross-linkable random copolymer such as a benzocyclobutene- or azidomethylstyrene-functionalized random copolymer of styrene and methyl methacrylate (e.g., poly(styrene-r-benzocyclobutene-r-methyl methacrylate (PS-r-PMMA-r-BCB) onto
- such a random copolymer can comprise about 42% PMMA, about (58-x)% PS and x% (e.g., about 2-3%) of either polybenzocyclobutene or poly(para-azidomethylstyrene)).
- An azidomethylstyrene-functionalized random copolymer can be UV crosslinked (e.g., 1-5 MW/cm 2 exposure for about 15 seconds to about 30 minutes) or thermally crosslinked (e.g., at about 170° C. for about 4 hours).
- a benzocyclobutene-functionalized random copolymer can be thermally cross-linked (e.g., at about 200° C. for about 4 hours or at about 250° C. for about 10 minutes).
- Another neutral wetting surface for PS-b-PMMA can be provided by hydrogen-terminated silicon, which can be prepared by a conventional process, for example, by a fluoride ion etch of a silicon substrate 10 (with native oxide present, about 12-15 ⁇ ) for example, by immersion in aqueous solution of hydrogen fluoride (HF) and buffered HF or ammonium fluoride (NH 4 F), by HF vapor treatment, by exposure to hot H 2 vapor, or by a hydrogen plasma treatment (e.g., atomic hydrogen).
- HF hydrogen fluoride
- NH 4 F buffered HF or ammonium fluoride
- the material layer 14 can be formed on the substrate 10 and etched to form the trench 16 , and the neutral wetting material 12 then applied to the trench floor 18 .
- trench floors that are neutral wetting to PS-b-PMMA can be prepared by spin coating PS-r-PMMA-r-BCB onto the surface of the substrate 10 within the trenches and thermally crosslinking the polymer (e.g., 190° C., 4 hours) to form a crosslinked polymer mat as a neutral wetting layer 12 . Capillary forces pull the random copolymer to the bottom of deep trenches. Non-crosslinked polymer material can be subsequently removed.
- a neutral-wetting polymer such as random copolymer of P(S-r-MMA-r-HEMA) can also be grafted selectively to a material layer, e.g., an oxide floor.
- a material layer e.g., an oxide floor.
- an olefinic monomer such as PMMA or PS can be grafted onto an H-terminated silicon substrate 10 (i.e., floor 18 ) by an in situ free radical polymerization using a di-olefinic linker such divinyl benzene to produce an about 10-15 nm thick film.
- Trench sidewalls 22 and ends 24 are preferential wetting by one block of the copolymer to induce formation of lamellae as the blocks self-assemble.
- the material layer 14 defining the trench surfaces can be an inherently preferential wetting material, or in other embodiments, a layer of a preferential wetting material can be applied onto the surfaces of the trenches.
- an oxide e.g., silicon oxide, SiO x
- a clean silicon surface with native silicon oxide
- PMMA polymethylmethacrylate
- a PMMA that is modified with a moiety containing one or more hydroxyl (—OH) groups can be applied by spin coating and then heated (e.g., to about 170° C.) to allow the OH groups to end-graft to the oxide sidewalls 22 and ends 24 of the trenches.
- Non-grafted material can be removed from the neutral wetting layer 12 by rinsing with an appropriate solvent (e.g., toluene).
- an appropriate solvent e.g., toluene
- toluene e.g., toluene
- the trench sidewalls 22 , edges and floors 18 influence the structuring of the array of nanostructures within the trenches 16 .
- the boundary conditions of the trench sidewalls 22 in both the x- and y-axis impose a structure wherein each trench 16 contains n number of features (i.e., lamellae, cylinders, etc.).
- Factors in forming a single array or layer of nanostructures within the trenches 16 include the width and depth of the trench 16 , the formulation of the block copolymer to achieve the desired pitch (L o ), and the thickness (t) of the copolymer film.
- the trenches 16 are constructed with a width (w t ) such that a block copolymer (or blend) will self-assemble upon annealing into a single layer of “n” structures spanning the width (w t ) of the trench 16 , with each structure (i.e., lamellae, cylinders, etc.) being separated by a value of L o (from center-to-center).
- the width (w t ) of the trenches 16 is a multiple of the inherent pitch value (L o ) of the polymer being equal to or about nL o (“n*L o ”), typically ranging from about n*10 to about n*100 nm (with n being the number of features or structures).
- the depth (D t ) of the trenches 16 is a multiple of the L o value of the block copolymer used for the base layer.
- the application and annealing of a block copolymer material having an inherent pitch value of L o in a trench having a width (w t ) at or about L o will result in the formation of a single layer of “n” structures spanning the width and registered to the sidewalls for the length of the trench.
- the trench 16 dimension is about 50-500 nm wide (w t ) and about 1,000-10,000 ⁇ m in length (l t ), with a depth (D t ) of about 20-200 nm.
- the trenches 16 can be formed using a lithographic tool having an exposure system capable of patterning at the scale of L o (10-100 nm).
- exposure systems include, for example, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, proximity X-rays, and electron beam (e-beam) lithography, as known and used in the art.
- EUV extreme ultraviolet
- e-beam electron beam
- Conventional photolithography can attain (at smallest) about 58 nm features.
- a layer 26 of a self-assembling (SA) lamellar-phase diblock copolymer material having an inherent pitch at or about L o (or a ternary blend of block copolymer and homopolymers blended to have a pitch at or about L o ) is then deposited, typically by spin casting (spin-coating) onto the floor 18 of the trench 16 .
- the block copolymer material can be deposited onto the patterned surface by spin casting from a dilute solution (e.g., about 0.25-2 wt % solution) of the copolymer in an organic solvent such as dichloroethane (CH 2 Cl 2 ) or toluene, for example.
- the thickness (t 1 ) of the diblock copolymer layer 26 is less than the trench depth (D t ) and at or about the L o value of the copolymer material such that the diblock copolymer layer 26 will self-assemble upon annealing to form a single layer of lamellae across the width (w t ) of the trench.
- a typical thickness (t 1 ) of the diblock copolymer layer 26 is about 20% of the L o value of the copolymer (e.g., about 10-100 nm) to form alternating polymer-rich lamellar blocks having a width of about L o (e.g., 25-35 nm) in a matrix of another block within each trench.
- the thickness of the diblock copolymer layer 26 can be measured, for example, by ellipsometry techniques. As shown, a thin diblock copolymer layer 26 of the copolymer material can be deposited onto the spacers 20 of the material layer 14 ; this film layer will not self-assemble, as it is not thick enough to form structures.
- diblock copolymers are used in the illustrative embodiments of this disclosure, other types of block copolymers (i.e., triblock or multiblock copolymers) can be used.
- diblock copolymers include poly(styrene-block-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA), polyethyleneoxide-polyisoprene, polyethyleneoxide-polybutadiene, polyethyleleoxide-polystyrene, polyetheleneoxide-polymethylmethacrylate, polystyrene-polylpyridine, polystyrene-polyisoprene (PS-b-PI), polystyrene-polybutadiene, polybutadiene-polyvinylpyridine, and polyisoprene-polymethylmethacrylate, among others.
- PS-b-PMMA poly(styrene-block-methyl methacrylate)
- PS-b-PMMA polyethylene
- triblock copolymers examples include poly(styrene-block methyl methacrylate-block-ethylene oxide).
- One of the polymer blocks of the block copolymer should be selectively and readily removable in order to fabricate an etch mask or template from the annealed film.
- the volume fractions of the two blocks (AB) are generally at a ratio between about 50:50 and 60:40.
- the Chi value of the polymer blocks (e.g., PS and PMMA) at common annealing temperatures is generally small such that the air interface is equally or non-selectively wetting to both blocks.
- An example of a lamellae-forming symmetric diblock copolymer is PS-b-PMMA with a weight ratio of about 50:50 (PS:PMMA) and total molecular weight (M n ) of about 51 kg/mol.
- the block copolymer material can also be formulated as a binary or ternary blend comprising a SA block copolymer and one or more homopolymers of the same type of polymers as the polymer blocks in the block copolymer, to produce blends that swell the size of the polymer domains and increase the L o value of the polymer.
- the volume fraction of the homopolymers can range from 0 to about 40%.
- An example of a ternary diblock copolymer blend is a PS-b-PMMA/PS/PMMA blend, for example, 46K/21K PS-b-PMMA containing 40% 20K polystyrene and 20K poly(methylmethacrylate).
- the L o value of the polymer can also be modified by adjusting the molecular weight of the block copolymer, e.g., for lamellae, L o (MW) 2/3 .
- ellipticity can be induced in the structures by creating a slight mismatch between the trench and the spacer widths and the inherent pitch (L o ) of the block copolymer or ternary blend, as described, for example, by Cheng et al., “Self-assembled One-Dimensional Nanostructure Arrays,” Nano Lett., 2006, 6(9), 2099-2103, the disclosure of which are incorporated by reference herein, which then reduces the stresses that result from such mismatches.
- the first diblock copolymer layer 26 is then annealed, for example, by thermal annealing to above the glass transition temperature of the component blocks of the copolymer material to cause the polymer blocks to phase separate and self-assemble according to the preferential and neutral wetting of the trench surfaces 18 , 22 , 24 to form a self-assembled polymer structure 28 .
- a PS-b-PMMA copolymer film can be annealed at a temperature of about 180-285° C. in a vacuum oven for about 1-120 hours to achieve the self-assembled morphology.
- the film can also be solvent annealed, for example, by slowly swelling both blocks of the film with a solvent, then slowly evaporating the solvent.
- the constraints provided by the width (w 1 ) of the trenches and the character of the copolymer composition combined with preferential or neutral wetting surfaces within the trenches results, upon annealing, in a single layer of n elements (lamellae) across the width (w t ) of the trench.
- the number “n” or pitches of elements (e.g., lamellar blocks) or half-cylinders within a trench is according to the width (w t ) of the trench and the molecular weight (MW) of the block copolymer. As shown in FIG.
- the resulting morphologies of the annealed base film 28 can be examined, for example, using atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
- AFM atomic force microscopy
- TEM transmission electron microscopy
- SEM scanning electron microscopy
- the annealed and ordered base film 28 is then treated to crosslink the polymer segments to fix and enhance the strength of the self-assembled polymer blocks 30 , 32 within the trench 16 (e.g., to crosslink the PS segments).
- the polymers can be structured to inherently crosslink (e.g., upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, including deep ultraviolet (DUV) radiation), or one or both of the polymer blocks 30 , 32 of the copolymer material can be formulated to contain a crosslinking agent.
- the material of diblock copolymer layer 26 outside the trench e.g., on spacer 20 ) can then be removed.
- the trench regions can be selectively exposed through a reticle to crosslink only the self-assembled film 28 within the trench 16 , and a wash can then be applied with an appropriate solvent (e.g., toluene), to remove the non-crosslinked portions of the film 28 (e.g., material of the diblock copolymer layer 26 on the spacer 20 ) leaving the registered self-assembled base film within the trench 16 and exposing the surface of material layer 14 above/outside the trench 16 (e.g., the spacer 20 ).
- an appropriate solvent e.g., toluene
- the annealed film 28 can be crosslinked globally, a photoresist layer can be applied to pattern and expose the areas of the film outside the trench regions (e.g., over the spacers 20 ), and the exposed portions of the film can be removed, for example by an oxygen (O 2 ) plasma treatment.
- the spacers 20 are narrow in width, for example, a width (w s ) of one of the copolymer domains (e.g., about L o ) such that the material of diblock copolymer layer 26 on the spacers is minimal and no removal is required.
- a layer 34 a of a lamellar-phase block copolymer material having an inherent pitch at or about L o is then deposited (e.g., by spin casting) onto the annealed and crosslinked base film 28 within the trench.
- the block copolymer material can be spin cast, for example, from a dilute solution of the copolymer in an organic solvent (e.g., about 0.25-2 wt % solution).
- the lamellar-phase block copolymer layer 34 a is cast onto the base film 28 within the trench 16 to a thickness (t 2 ) at or about the L o value of the block copolymer material such that, upon annealing, the lamellar-phase block copolymer layer 34 a will self-assemble to form a single layer of perpendicular-oriented lamellar domains, each having a width (w 2 ) at or about 0.5 L o .
- annealing of the lamellar-phase block copolymer layer 34 a is then conducted to cause the polymer blocks to separate and self-assemble into a film 36 a composed of perpendicular-oriented lamellar-phase domains 38 a, 40 a in a striped pattern, which are ordered and registered, respectively, to the polymer domains 30 , 32 of the base layer 28 .
- Annealing can be conducted, for example, over a range of about 110-290° C. for a PS-b-PMMA copolymer film.
- the annealed film 36 a is then crosslinked, and the non-ordered copolymer material 34 a on the material layer 14 outside the trench 16 can be removed (e.g., by solvent wash, O 2 plasma treatment) resulting in the structure shown in FIG. 5A .
- a second layer 34 b of the lamellar-phase block copolymer material can be deposited to a thickness (t 2 ) at or about L o onto the annealed and crosslinked film 36 a.
- the second lamellar-phase block copolymer layer 34 b can then be annealed such that the polymer blocks self-assemble into a film 36 b of perpendicular-oriented lamellar-phase domains 38 b, 40 b oriented and registered to the underlying polymer blocks 38 a , 40 a, whereupon the film 36 b can be a crosslinked and non-ordered copolymer material of second lamellar-phase block copolymer layer 34 b outside the trench 16 can be removed, as illustrated in FIG.
- the aspect ratio of the openings formed in the multilayered film is at least about two times the aspect ratio that can be provided by similar single layer films, and can be increased with the addition of film layers, generally at least about 1:2 and ranging from about 1:2 to about 1:20.
- one of the block components can be selectively removed to produce a thin film 44 that can be used, for example, as a lithographic template or mask to pattern the underlying substrate 10 in a semiconductor processing to define regular patterns in the nanometer size range (i.e., about 10-100 nm).
- a lithographic template or mask to pattern the underlying substrate 10 in a semiconductor processing to define regular patterns in the nanometer size range (i.e., about 10-100 nm).
- Removal of PMMA phase domains can be performed, for example, by application of an oxygen (O 2 ) or CF 4 plasma.
- the openings are separated by walls composed of the PMMA domains.
- the resulting film 44 has a corrugated surface that defines a linear pattern of fine, nanometer-scale, parallel slits (openings) 46 about 5-50 nm wide and several microns in length (e.g., about 10-4000 ⁇ m), the individual slits separated by walls 48 about 5-50 nm wide, providing an aspect ratio ranging from about 1:2 to about 1:20.
- openings fine, nanometer-scale, parallel slits
- the individual slits separated by walls 48 about 5-50 nm wide, providing an aspect ratio ranging from about 1:2 to about 1:20.
- removal of the PMMA domains affords a PS mask of sublithographic dimensions, for example, a pitch of about 35 nm (17.5 nm PS domain). A smaller pitch can be dialed in by using lower molecular weight diblock copolymers.
- the films can be used, for example, as a lithographic template or etch mask to pattern (arrows ⁇ ) the underlying substrate 10 , for example, by a non-selective RIE etching process, to delineate a series of channels or grooves 50 , shown in phantom in FIG. 8A , and extending to an active area or element 51 a .
- the channels 50 can then be filled with a material 51 b as illustrated in FIG. 8B , for example, a conductive material (e.g., metal) to form nanowire channel arrays for transistor channels, semiconductor capacitors, and other structures, or with a dielectric material to separate active areas (e.g., substrate 10 ). Further processing can then be performed as desired.
- the films provide linear arrays having long range ordering and registration for a wide field of coverage for templating a substrate.
- the films are useful as etch masks for producing close pitched nanoscale channel and grooves that are several microns in length, for producing features such as floating gates for NAND flash with nanoscale dimensions.
- photolithography techniques are unable to produce channels much below 60 nm wide without high expense. Resolution can exceed other techniques such as conventional photolithography, while fabrication costs utilizing methods of the disclosure are far less than electron beam (E-beam) or EUV photolithographies which have comparable resolution.
- a method according to another embodiment of the invention for forming a thin film that defines a linear array pattern utilizing a base layer formed from a cylindrical-phase block copolymer is illustrated with reference to FIGS. 9-18 .
- the base layer upon annealing, forms lines of half-cylinders in a polymer matrix extending the length and oriented parallel to the sidewalls and floor of the trenches.
- the assembled base film can then be used as a template for inducing the ordering of an overlying lamellar-phase block copolymer film such that the lamellar domains of the annealed film are oriented perpendicularly and registered to the underlying pattern of the half-cylinders of the base film.
- the surfaces of the floor 18 ′, sidewalls 22 ′ and ends 24 ′ of the trench are preferential wetting by the minority block of the copolymer to induce formation of parallel lines of half-cylinders of the minority block wetting the air interface (surface exposed) down the middle of each trench aligned parallel to the trench sidewalls and floor.
- substrate 10 ′ can be composed of an inherently preferential wetting material such as a clean silicon surface (with native silicon oxide) and material layer 14 ′ can be composed of oxide (e.g., SiO x ).
- Both materials exhibit preferential wetting toward the PMMA block to result in the assembly of a thin interface layer of PMMA on the trench sidewalls as well as PMMA cylinders in the center of a PS matrix within each trench.
- Other preferential wetting surfaces to PMMA can be provided, for example, by silicon nitride, silicon oxycarbide, and PMMA polymer grafted to a sidewall material such as silicon oxide, and resist materials such as such as methacrylate-based resists. See, for example, C. T. Black and O. Bezencenet, “Nanometer-Scale Pattern Registration and Alignment by Directed Diblock Copolymer Self-Assembly,” IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology, 2004, 3(3), 412-415; C. T.
- the depth (D t ) of the trench 16 ′ is less than L o
- the trench dimension is about 50-2000 nm wide (w t ) with a depth (D) of about 15-25 nm. As shown in FIGS.
- a layer 26 ′ of the cylinder-forming block copolymer material (inherent pitch at or about L o ) is deposited onto the floor 18 ′ of the trench 16 ′ to a thickness (t 1 ) greater than the trench depth (D t ) but less than about the L o value of the block copolymer material such that the copolymer cylindrical-phase block layer 26 ′ will self-assemble upon annealing to form a single layer of parallel-oriented half-cylinders of one block having a diameter of about L o in a matrix of another block as parallel lines across the width (w t ) of the trench.
- the number “n” or pitches of half-cylinders within a trench is according to the width (w t ) of the trench (e.g., about nL o ) and the molecular weight (MW) of the block copolymer.
- the cylindrical-phase block copolymer can be a diblock or multiblock copolymer, and the copolymer material can be formulated as a binary or ternary blend comprising a homopolymer(s), as previously described.
- the volume fractions of the two blocks (AB) are generally at a ratio between about 60:40 and 80:20.
- M n total molecular weight
- the Chi value of the polymer blocks (e.g., PS and PMMA) at common annealing temperatures and the difference between interfacial energies of each block and the air is generally small, such that the air interface is equally or non-selectively wetting to both blocks.
- the cylindrical-phase block copolymer film 26 ′ is annealed to form the base layer 28 ′, resulting in parallel-oriented half-cylinders 30 ′ within a polymer matrix 32 ′ spanning the width (w t ) of the trench 16 ′, with each cylinder being separated by an average value of at or about L o , and an interface layer 30 a ′ along the sidewalls 22 ′ and floor 18 ′.
- a thin cylindrical-phase block copolymer film 26 ′ of the copolymer material deposited on the spacers or crests 20 ′ of the material 14 ′ between trenches is not thick enough to self-assemble.
- the spacers 20 ′ between the trenches are narrow, for example, having a width (w s ) of one of the copolymer domains such that the material of cylindrical-phase block copolymer film 26 ′ on the spacers 20 ′ is essentially nonexistent.
- the annealed base film 28 ′ is then be treated to crosslink the polymer segments (e.g., to crosslink the PS matrix 32 ′).
- the polymers can be structured to inherently crosslink, or one or both of the polymer blocks of the copolymer material can he formulated to contain a crosslinking agent.
- a layer 34 a ′ of a lamellar-phase block copolymer material (inherent pitch at or about L o ) is then deposited onto the annealed and crosslinked base film 28 ′ to a thickness (t 2 ) at or about the L o value of the lamellar-phase block copolymer material.
- the lamellar-phase block copolymer material can be structured and formulated as previously described with respect to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-8 .
- the volume fractions of the two blocks (AB) of a lamellar-forming diblock copolymer are generally at a ratio between about 50:50 and 60:40, an example being a PS-b-PMMA copolymer at a 50:50 weight ratio (M n of about 51 kg/mol), with a generally small difference in interfacial energies of each block with air to produce surface-exposed lamellae.
- a self-assembled film 36 a ′ composed of a single layer of perpendicular-oriented lamellar-phase domains 38 a ′, 40 a ′ in a striped pattern, which are ordered and registered, respectively, to the polymer domains 30 ′, 32 ′ of the cylindrical-phase base layer 28 ′, as illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 13A , with each domain having a width (w 2 ) of about L o .
- the copolymer material of lamellar-phase block copolymer layer 34 a ′ on the spacers 20 ′ may self-assemble but without registration or long-range order.
- the annealed film 36 a ′ is then treated to crosslink the polymer segments (e.g., PS domains 40 a ′), as previously described.
- a second layer 34 b ′ of a lamellar-phase block copolymer material can then be deposited onto the previously annealed and crosslinked film 36 a ′ to a thickness (t 2 ) at or about L o .
- the second lamellar-phase block copolymer layer 34 b ′ can then be annealed to form a second film layer 36 b ′ composed of lamellar-phase domains 38 b ′, 40 b ′ oriented and registered to the underlying polymer blocks 38 a ′, 40 a ′, resulting in the structure shown in FIG. 15 .
- the copolymer material 34 b ′ over the copolymer layer 34 a ′ on the spacers 20 ′ may self-assemble but without registration or long-range order.
- the film 36 b ′ can then be crosslinked, and additional layers of the lamellar-phase block copolymer can be deposited, annealed and crosslinked to form a film structure 42 ′ of the desired thickness (T).
- the additional layers of the self-assembled and crosslinked film can be added to increase the aspect ratio of the openings subsequently formed in the multilayered film.
- the non-ordered material of lamellar-phase block copolymer layers 34 a ′, 34 b ′ remaining on the spacers 20 ′ can then be removed resulting in the structure shown in FIG. 16 .
- a solvent wash can be applied to remove residual copolymer material from the spacers 20 ′ that has not been cross-linked (e.g., it was masked during crosslinking of the polymer layers).
- Photo-patterning and a selective O 2 plasma etch can be used to remove crosslinked polymer material from the spacers 20 ′.
- the matrix 32 ′ (e.g., PS) situated underneath the half-cylinders 30 ′ and over the trench floor 18 ′ remains as shown by the intermediate structure 43 ′ in FIG. 17 . That portion of matrix 32 ′ can be removed, for example, by a plasma O 2 or CF 4 etch, prior to a patterning process to expose the underlying substrate 10 ′, resulting in the film 44 ′ illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 18A .
- the film can be used, for example, to pattern (arrows ⁇ ) the underlying substrate 10 ′ to delineate a series of channels or grooves 50 ′, shown in phantom in FIG. 18A , to an active area or element 51 a ′, which can then be filled with a material 51 b ′, for example, a conductive metal or dielectric material, as depicted in FIG. 18B .
- a method according to another embodiment of the invention for forming thin films of a cylindrical-phase self-assembling block copolymer that define an array of perpendicularly-oriented cylinders in a polymer matrix is illustrated with reference to FIGS. 19-25 .
- the described embodiment utilizes topographical features, the sidewalls and ends of trenches, as constraints to induce orientation and registration of cylindrical copolymer domains to achieve a hexagonal array of perpendicularly-oriented cylinders within a polymer matrix registered to the trench sidewalls.
- a trench 16 ′′ is etched in a material layer 14 ′′ to expose a neutral wetting surface on an underlying substrate 10 ′′.
- the width (w t ) of the trench 16 ′′ is at or about nL o .
- the ends 24 ′′ are angled to the sidewalls 22 ′′ as shown, for example, at an about 60° angle, and in some embodiments are slightly rounded.
- the trenches are also structured such that the trench floor 18 ′′ is neutral wetting to both blocks of the copolymer material, and the sidewalls 22 ′′ and ends 24 ′′ are preferential wetting by the minority block of the copolymer. Entropic forces drive the wetting of a neutral-wetting surface by both blocks, resulting in a perpendicular orientation of the self-assembled cylinders.
- the material layer 14 ′′ is composed of silicon oxide (SiO x ) and the substrate 10 ′′ is composed of silicon.
- a neutral wetting layer 12 ′′ can be provided, for example, by applying a neutral wetting polymer on the surface of the substrate 10 ′′ before forming the material layer 14 ′′, and the trenches 16 ′′ can be etched expose the neutral wetting layer 12 ′′ forming the trench floors 18 ′′.
- a neutral wetting polymer e.g., PS-r-PMMA, PS-r-PMMA-r-BCB, etc.
- a neutral wetting surface for PS-b-PMMA can be provided by hydrogen-terminated silicon, or by PS-r-PMMA ( ⁇ 60 mol % PS) graft polymerized in situ onto H-terminated silicon.
- sidewalls 22 ′′ and ends 24 ′′ that are preferential wetting toward the PMMA block of a PS-b-PMMA diblock copolymer can be provided by a material layer 14 ′′ composed of silicon oxide (SiO x ), silicon nitride, silicon oxycarbide, a PMMA polymer modified with a moiety containing hydroxyl (—OH) group(s) (e.g., hydroxyethylmethacrylate) grafted to a sidewall material such as silicon oxide, and resist materials such as such as methacrylate based resists.
- a material layer 14 ′′ composed of silicon oxide (SiO x ), silicon nitride, silicon oxycarbide, a PMMA polymer modified with a moiety containing hydroxyl (—OH) group(s) (e.g., hydroxyethylmethacrylate) grafted to a sidewall material such as silicon oxide, and resist materials such as such as methacrylate based resists.
- a cylindrical-phase diblock copolymer material 26 ′′ having an inherent pitch at or about L o (or blend with homopolymers) is deposited onto the neutral wetting layer 12 ′′ on the floor 18 ′′ of the trench 16 ′′ to a thickness (t 1 ) of less than or about equal to the L o value of the copolymer material to up to about 1.5 ⁇ L o , such that the copolymer film layer will self-assemble upon annealing to form a hexagonal array of perpendicular cylindrical domains having a diameter of about 0.5 L o (e.g., about 20 nm) in the middle of a polymer matrix within each trench (e.g., with the adjacent cylindrical domains having a center-to-center distance of at or about L o (e.g., about 35 nm).
- L o e.g., about 20 nm
- the volume fractions of the two blocks (AB) are generally at a ratio between about 60:40 and 80:20.
- the cylindrical-phase diblock copolymer film 26 ′′ is then annealed, resulting in a base film 28 ′′.
- the character of the cylindrical-phase diblock copolymer composition 26 ′′ combined with a neutral wetting trench floor 18 ′′ and preferential wetting sidewalls 22 ′′ and ends 24 ′′, and constraints provided by the width (w t ) of trench 16 ′′ results, upon annealing, in a hexagonal array of perpendicularly-oriented cylindrical domains 30 ′′ of the minor polymer block (i.e., like domains) (e.g., PMMA) within a matrix 32 ′′ of the major polymer block (e.g., PS).
- the minor polymer block i.e., like domains
- the major polymer block e.g., PS
- a thin layer 30 a ′′ of the minor polymer block wets the sidewalls 18 ′′.
- the hexagonal array contains n single rows of cylinders according to the width (w t ) of the trench with the cylinders 30 ′′ in each row being offset by about L o (pitch distance or center-to-center distance) from the cylinders in the adjacent rows.
- Each row contains a number of cylinders, generally m cylinders, which number can vary according to the length (l t ) of the trench and the shape of the trench end (e.g., rounded, angled, etc.) with some rows having greater or less than m cylinders.
- the pitch distance between each cylinder 30 ′′ (within a row) is generally at or about L o .
- the annealed cylindrical-phase base film 28 ′′ is then treated to crosslink the polymer segments (e.g., to crosslink the PS matrix 32 ′′).
- the polymers can be structured to inherently crosslink, or one or both of the polymer blocks of the copolymer material can be formulated to contain a crosslinking agent.
- the polymer material remaining on the spacers 20 ′′ can then be removed as previously described.
- a layer 34 a ′′ of a cylindrical-phase block copolymer material (inherent pitch at or about L o ) is then deposited onto the annealed and crosslinked base film 28 ′′ to a thickness (t 2 ) at or about the L o value of the cylindrical-phase block copolymer material 36 a ′′.
- the annealed film 36 a ′′ is then treated to crosslink the polymer segments (e.g., PS matrix 40 a ′′) and the polymer material on the spacers 20 ′′ removed, as previously described.
- a second layer 34 b ′′ of the cylindrical-phase block copolymer material can be deposited onto the annealed and crosslinked film 36 a ′′ to a thickness (t 2 ) at or about L o ( FIG. 22 ), and annealed to form a second film layer 36 b ′′ composed of perpendicular-oriented cylindrical domains 38 b ′′ in a matrix 40 b ′′ which are oriented and registered to the underlying cylinders 38 a ′′ and matrix 40 a ′′, as depicted in FIG. 23 .
- the film 36 b ′′ is then crosslinked, and the polymer material on the spacers 20 ′′ can be removed to produce the film structure 42 ′′ as shown. Additional layers of the cylindrical-phase diblock copolymer can be deposited, annealed and crosslinked to form a film structure of a desired thickness (T) and to increase the aspect ratio of the openings formed in the multilayered film.
- T desired thickness
- One of the block components can then be selectively removed from the film 42 ′′, leaving either the matrix 48 ′′ to produce a film 44 a ′′ composed of a hexagonal array of cylindrical openings 46 ′′ as in FIGS. 24 and 24A , or the cylindrical domains 52 ′′ to produce a film 44 b ′′ as in FIGS. 25 and 25A .
- the resulting films 44 a ′′, 44 b ′′ can be used, for example, as a lithographic template or mask to pattern the underlying substrate 10 ′′ in a semiconductor processing to define regular patterns in the nanometer size range (i.e., about 5-50 nm).
- a film 44 a ′′ composed of a hexagonal array of openings 46 ′′ within the matrix 48 ′′ of the major block (e.g., PS), the openings having a diameter of about 5-50 nm and an aspect ratio generally at least about 1:2 and ranging from about 1:2 to about 1:20.
- the film 44 a ′′ can be used as an etch mask to pattern (arrows ⁇ ) the underlying substrate 10 ′′ to form an array of openings 50 ′′ in the substrate 10 ′′ (shown in phantom in FIG.
- a metal or conductive alloy such as Cu, Al, W, Si, and Ti 3 N 4 , among others, to form contacts, for example, to an underlying active area or conductive line 51 a ′′, or with a metal-insulator-metal-stack to form capacitors with an insulating material such as SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , HfO 2 , ZrO 2 , SrTiO 3 , among other dielectrics.
- the selective removal of the major block matrix 32 ′′ 140 a - 40 b ′′ will provide a film 44 b ′′ composed of a hexagonal array of minor block cylinders 52 ′′ (e.g., PS).
- a majority PMMA block copolymer and sidewalls composed of a material that is selectively PS-wetting (e.g., a gold sidewall or PS-grafted to the sidewall material).
- the film 44 b ′′ composed of cylinders 52 ′′ can be used as an etch mask (arrows ⁇ ) to etch a patterned opening 54 ′′ in the underlying substrate 10 ′′ (shown in phantom in FIG.
- openings 54 ′′ in a silicon substrate 10 ′′ can be filled with a dielectric material such as SiO 2 , with the cylinders of the residual substrate 10 ′′ (e.g., of silicon) providing contacts to an underlying active area or metal lines 51 a′′.
- the foregoing process for forming a hexagonal array of cylinders with a cylindrical-phase block copolymer can be modified by utilizing the trench sidewalls and ends as constraints to induce orientation and registration of cylindrical copolymer domains in a single row parallel to the trench sidewalls.
- a trench 16 ′′′ is structured to have a width (w t ) that is at or about the L o value of the block copolymer material, a floor 18 ′′′ that is neutral wetting to both blocks of the copolymer material, and sidewalls 22 ′′′ and ends 24 ′′′ that are preferential wetting by the minority block of the copolymer.
- the material layer 14 ′′′ (e.g., SiO x , SiN, etc.) exposed on the sidewalls 22 ′′′ and ends 24 ′′′ is preferential wetting toward the PMMA block of a PS-b-PMMA diblock copolymer, and the substrate 10 ′′′ (e.g., silicon) bears a neutral wetting layer 12 ′′′ (e.g., a neutral wetting polymer, H-terminated silicon) which is exposed at the trench floors 18 ′′′.
- a neutral wetting layer 12 ′′′ e.g., a neutral wetting polymer, H-terminated silicon
- a cylindrical-phase diblock copolymer material film 26 ′′′ having an inherent pitch at or about L o (or blend with homopolymers) can be deposited onto the neutral wetting layer 12 ′′′ on the trench floor 18 ′′′ to a thickness (t 1 ) of less than or about equal to the L o value of the copolymer material to up to about 1.5 ⁇ L o (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 2A ).
- the cylindrical-phase diblock copolymer material film 26 ′′′ is then annealed, whereupon the copolymer film layer will self-assemble to form a base film 28 ′′′, as illustrated in FIGS. 26 and 26A .
- the cylinders have a diameter at or about 0.5 L o (e.g., about 20 nm), the number n of cylinders in the row is according to the length of the trench, and the center-to-center distance (pitch distance) (p) between each like domain (cylinder) is at or about L o (e.g., about 35 nm).
- the annealed cylindrical-phase base film 28 ′′′ is then treated to crosslink the polymer segments (e.g., the PS matrix 32 ′′′).
- Processing can then be continued to form a cylindrical-phase block copolymer layer 36 a ′′′ on the base film ( FIG. 27 ), which upon annealing results in a single layer of perpendicular cylindrical domains 38 a ′′′ within a polymer matrix 40 a ′′′, which are ordered and registered to the underlying cylindrical domains 30 ′′′ and matrix 32 ′′′ of the base layer 28 ′′′ ( FIG. 28 ).
- the film 36 a ′′′ is then treated to crosslink the polymer segments (e.g., PS matrix 40 a ′′′) as previously described.
- a second layer 34 b ′′′ of the cylindrical-phase block copolymer can then be deposited onto the annealed/crosslinked film 36 a ′′′ to a thickness (t 2 ) at or about L o ( FIG. 29 ) and annealed.
- the resulting film 36 b ′′′ ( FIG. 30 ) is composed of perpendicular-oriented cylindrical domains 38 b ′′′ in a matrix 40 b ′′′ oriented and registered to the underlying cylinders 38 a ′′′ and matrix 40 a ′′′ of film 36 a ′′′.
- the film 36 b ′′′ is crosslinked, and non-ordered polymer material on the spacers 20 ′′′ can be removed to produce the film structure 42 ′′′.
- Additional layers of the cylindrical-phase diblock copolymer can be deposited, annealed and crosslinked to form a film structure of a desired thickness (T).
- Selective removal of one of the block components can then be performed resulting in a film 44 a ′′′ composed of the matrix 48 ′′′ with a 1-D array of cylindrical openings 46 ′′′ as in FIGS. 31 and 31A .
- selective removal of the matrix components 32 ′′′/ 40 a - 40 b ′′′ produces a film 44 b ′′′ composed of a 1-D array of cylinders 52 ′′′ as in FIGS. 32 and 32A .
- the film can be used as a mask to etch the underlying substrate 10 ′′′.
- a film 44 A′′′ composed of a 1-D array of openings 46 ′′′ within the matrix 48 ′′′ of the major block (e.g., PS), the openings having a diameter of about 5-50 nm and an aspect ratio of about 1:2 to about 1:20.
- the film 44 A′′′ can be used as an etch mask to pattern (arrows ⁇ ) the underlying substrate 10 ′′′ to form an array of openings 50 ′′′ (shown in phantom in FIG. 31A ) extending to an active area or element 51 a ′′′.
- the residual film 44 A′′′ can then be removed and the openings 50 ′′′ in the substrate 10 ′′′ can be filled as shown in FIG. 31B with a material 51 b ′′′, for example, a metal or conductive alloy to provide a 1-D array of contacts to an underlying active area or line contact 51 a ′′′, for example, or with metal-insulator-metal-stacks to form capacitors. Further processing can then be performed as desired.
- a material 51 b ′′′ for example, a metal or conductive alloy to provide a 1-D array of contacts to an underlying active area or line contact 51 a ′′′, for example, or with metal-insulator-metal-stacks to form capacitors.
- the selective removal of the major block matrix components 32 ′′′, 40 a - 40 b ′′′ will provide a film 44 b ′′′ composed of a 1-D array of the minor block cylinders 52 ′′′ (e.g., PS).
- the film 44 b ′′′ can be used as a mask or template in an etch process (arrows ⁇ ) to form a patterned opening 54 ′′′ (shown in phantom in FIG. 32A ) in the underlying substrate 10 ′′′, with the masked substrate 10 ′′′ etched to form cylinders.
- the residual cylinders 52 ′′′ of the polymer mask 44 b ′′′ can then be removed and a material 51 b ′′′ such as a dielectric material (e.g., oxide) that is distinct from the substrate 10 ′′′ (e.g., silicon) can be deposited to fill the opening 54 ′′ as shown in FIG. 32B , to provide a differential surface to the substrate 10 ′′ cylinders, which can provide contacts to an underlying active area or metal line 51 a ′′′, for example.
- a material 51 b ′′′ such as a dielectric material (e.g., oxide) that is distinct from the substrate 10 ′′′ (e.g., silicon) can be deposited to fill the opening 54 ′′ as shown in FIG. 32B , to provide a differential surface to the substrate 10 ′′ cylinders, which can provide contacts to an underlying active area or metal line 51 a ′′′, for example.
- a material 51 b ′′′ such as a dielectric material (e.g., oxide
Abstract
A semiconductor structure comprises a first self-assembled block copolymer material within a trench in a substrate and a second self-assembled block copolymer material overlying the first self-assembled block copolymer material. The first self-assembled block copolymer material comprises self-assembled polymer domains registered to sidewalls of the trench and extending a length of the trench. The second self-assembled block copolymer material comprises self-assembled polymer domains overlying and registered to the self-assembled polymer domains of the first self-assembled block copolymer material. The first self-assembled block copolymer material comprises a different material from the first self-assembled block copolymer material. A template comprises lines extending a length of a trench in a substrate and separated by openings exposing a floor of the trench in a substrate. Each of the lines comprises the first self-assembled block copolymer material and the second self-assembled block copolymer material overlying the first self-assembled block copolymer material.
Description
- This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/470,459, filed May 14, 2012, pending, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/738,169, filed Apr. 20, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,372,295, issued Feb. 12, 2013, the disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated herein by this reference.
- Embodiments of the invention relate to methods of fabricating nanoscale arrays of micro-vias, microchannels and microstructures by use of thin films of self-assembling block copolymers, and devices resulting from those methods.
- As the development of nanoscale mechanical, electrical, chemical and biological devices and systems increases, new processes and materials are needed to fabricate nanoscale devices and components. Conventional optical lithographic processing methods are not able to accommodate fabrication of structures and features much below the 100 nm level. The use of self-assembling diblock copolymers presents another route to patterning at nanometer dimensions. Diblock copolymer films spontaneously assembly into periodic structures by microphase separation of the constituent polymer blocks after annealing, for example, by thermal annealing above the glass transition temperature of the polymer or by solvent annealing, forming ordered domains at nanometer-scale dimensions. Following self-assembly, one block of the copolymer can be selectively removed and the remaining patterned film used as an etch mask for patterning nanosized features into the underlying substrate. Since the domain sizes and periods (Lo) involved in this method are determined by the chain length of a block copolymer (MW), resolution can exceed other techniques such as conventional photolithography, while the cost of the technique is far less than electron beam lithography or EUV photolithography, which have comparable resolution.
- The film morphology, including the size and shape of the microphase-separated domains, can be controlled by the molecular weight and volume fraction of the AB blocks of a diblock copolymer to produce lamellar, cylindrical, or spherical morphologies, among others. For example, for volume fractions at ratios greater than about 80:20 of the two blocks (AB) of a diblock polymer, a block copolymer film will microphase separate and self-assemble into a periodic spherical domains with spheres of polymer B surrounded by a matrix of polymer A. For ratios of the two blocks between about 60:40 and 80:20, the diblock copolymer assembles into a periodic hexagonal close-packed or honeycomb array of cylinders of polymer B within a matrix of polymer A. For ratios between about 50:50 and 60:40, lamellar domains or alternating stripes of the blocks are formed. Domain size typically ranges from 5-50 nm.
- Diblock copolymer thin films of cylindrical and lamellar phases may both form striped phases relative to an interface. For cylindrical phase films, a striped pattern results from parallel cylinder orientation, while for lamellar phase films, a striped pattern results from perpendicular domain orientation. From a top down view, perpendicular-oriented lamellae and parallel-oriented cylinders appear similar, e.g., as parallel lines.
- Graphoepitaxy techniques using defined topography such as trench edges have been used in an attempt to orient and order copolymer domains and control registration and alignment of the self-assembled blocks to form a desired pattern.
- While the self-assembly of diblock copolymers of tightly controlled composition and polydispersity has been demonstrated as a method of preparing a variety of nanoscale, sub-lithographic structures, the necessity of casting only very thin films limits the dimensions of the structures, particularly in the z-axis direction (i.e., perpendicular to the substrate surface). Openings produced by selective etching and removal of polymer domains of the films may not achieve the required aspect ratio for critical dimensions of desired features.
- It would be useful to provide a method of fabricating films of arrays of ordered nanostructures that overcome these problems.
- Embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the following accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only. Throughout the following views, the reference numerals will be used in the drawings, and the same reference numerals will be used throughout the several views and in the description to indicate same or like parts.
-
FIG. 1 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of a substrate at a preliminary processing stage according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, showing the substrate with a trench.FIGS. 1A and 1B are elevational, cross-sectional views of embodiments of the substrate depicted inFIG. 1 taken alongline 1A/1B-1A/1B. -
FIGS. 2-5 illustrate diagrammatic top plan views of the substrate ofFIG. 1 at various stages of the fabrication of a self-assembled block copolymer film according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.FIGS. 2A-5A illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of embodiments of a portion of the substrate depicted inFIGS. 2-5 taken, respectively, alongline 2A-2A toline 5A-5A. -
FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of the substrate depicted inFIG. 5A , in subsequent stages. -
FIG. 8 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of the substrate ofFIG. 7 at a subsequent stage.FIG. 8A is an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted inFIG. 8 taken alongline 8A-8A.FIG. 8B is a view ofFIG. 8A in a subsequent processing step. -
FIG. 9 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of a substrate at a preliminary processing stage according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, showing the substrate with a trench.FIG. 9A is an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted inFIG. 9 taken alongline 9A-9A. -
FIGS. 10-13 illustrate diagrammatic top plan views of the substrate ofFIG. 9 at various stages of the fabrication of a self-assembled block copolymer film according to an embodiment of the present disclosure utilizing a cylindrical-phase block copolymer for the base film.FIGS. 10A-13A illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of embodiments of a portion of the substrate depicted inFIGS. 10-13 taken, respectively, alongline 10A-10A toline 13A-13A. -
FIGS. 14-17 illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of the substrate depicted inFIG. 13A , in subsequent stages.FIG. 17 illustrates an intermediate structure showing the removal of half-cylindrical domains of the base layer. -
FIG. 18 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of the substrate ofFIG. 17 at a subsequent stage.FIG. 18A illustrates an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted inFIG. 18 taken alongline 18A-18A.FIG. 18B is a view ofFIG. 18A in a subsequent processing step. -
FIGS. 19-21 illustrate diagrammatic top plan views of the substrate ofFIG. 1 at various stages of the fabrication of a self-assembled block copolymer film according to another embodiment of the present disclosure utilizing a cylindrical-phase block copolymer for the base film.FIGS. 19A-21A illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of embodiments of a portion of the substrate depicted inFIGS. 19-21 taken, respectively, alongline 19A-19A toline 21A-21A. -
FIGS. 22 and 23 illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of the substrate depicted inFIG. 21A , in subsequent stages. -
FIG. 24 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of the substrate ofFIG. 23 showing the removal of cylindrical domains at a subsequent stage according to an embodiment of the invention.FIG. 24A illustrates an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted inFIG. 24 taken along line 24A-24A.FIG. 24B is a view ofFIG. 24A in a subsequent processing step. -
FIG. 25 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of the substrate ofFIG. 24 showing the removal of the matrix domain at a subsequent stage according to another embodiment of the invention.FIG. 25A illustrates an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted inFIG. 25 taken alongline 25A-25A.FIG. 25B is a view ofFIG. 25A in a subsequent processing step. -
FIG. 26 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of the substrate ofFIG. 1 at a subsequent stage of the fabrication of a self-assembled block copolymer film according to another embodiment of the present disclosure utilizing a cylindrical-phase block copolymer for the base film.FIG. 26A illustrates an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted inFIG. 26 taken alongline 26A-26A. -
FIGS. 27-30 illustrate elevational, cross-sectional views of the substrate depicted inFIG. 26A , in subsequent stages. -
FIG. 31 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of the substrate ofFIG. 30 showing the removal of cylindrical domains at a subsequent stage according to an embodiment of the invention.FIG. 31A illustrates an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted inFIG. 31 taken alongline 31A-31A.FIG. 31B is a view ofFIG. 31A in a subsequent processing step. -
FIG. 32 illustrates a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of the substrate ofFIG. 30 showing the removal of the matrix domain at a subsequent stage according to another embodiment of the invention.FIG. 32A illustrates an elevational, cross-sectional view of the substrate depicted inFIG. 32 taken alongline 32A-32A.FIG. 32B is a view ofFIG. 32A in a subsequent processing step. - The following description with reference to the drawings provides illustrative examples of devices and methods according to embodiments of the invention. Such description is for illustrative purposes only and not for purposes of limiting the same.
- In the context of the current application, the terms “semiconductor substrate” or “semiconductive substrate” or “semiconductive wafer fragment” or “wafer fragment” or “wafer” will be understood to mean any construction comprising semiconductor material, including but not limited to bulk semiconductive materials such as a semiconductor wafer (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials thereon), and semiconductive material layers (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials). The term “substrate” refers to any supporting structure including, but not limited to, the semiconductive substrates, wafer fragments or wafers described above.
- “Lo” is the inherent pitch (bulk period or repeat unit) of structures that self-assemble upon annealing from a self-assembling (SA) block copolymer or a blend of a block copolymer with one or more of its constituent homopolymers.
- Processing conditions of embodiments of the invention use a graphoepitaxy technique utilizing the sidewalls of trenches as constraints to induce orientation and registration of a first film of a self-assembling diblock copolymer to form an ordered array pattern registered to the trench sidewalls. The first polymer film is then used as a template or base layer for inducing the ordering of a subsequently deposited block copolymer film such that, upon annealing, the polymer domains orient and are registered to the underlying structures, resulting in a stacked double- or multi-layered structure with like polymer domains registered to each other. The procedure can be repeated as needed to achieve a desired structure pattern of a required dimension in the z-axis direction. In some embodiments, the desired patterned can be selectively etched by methods known in the art, and the resulting template structures can be used to prepare features within a substrate.
- Steps in a method for fabricating thin films from self-assembling (SA) block copolymers that define nanometer-scale linear array patterns according to embodiments of the invention are illustrated in
FIGS. 1-8 . - The method forms a multi-layer pattern within trenches by forming a polymer base film or template with ordered structures within the trenches for inducing the ordering of an overlying lamellar phase block copolymer film such that the lamellar domains are oriented perpendicularly and registered to the underlying assembled domains of the base film.
- The base layer within the trenches can be formed from a lamellar-phase block copolymer film, which upon annealing forms a registered lamellar array of alternating polymer-rich blocks that extend the length and are oriented parallel to the sidewalls and perpendicular to the floor of the trenches. In other embodiments, the base layer is formed from a cylindrical-phase block copolymer material which, upon annealing, forms lines of half-cylinders in a polymer matrix extending the length and oriented parallel to the sidewalls and floor of the trenches. The assembled base film can then be used as a template for inducing the ordering of an overlying lamellar-phase block copolymer film such that the lamellar domains of the annealed film are oriented perpendicularly and registered to the underlying pattern of the base film within the trenches.
- To produce a base polymer film within the trenches using a lamellar-phase block copolymer, the surface of the sidewalls and edges of the trenches are preferential wetting by one block of the copolymer and the trench floors are neutral wetting (equal affinity for both blocks of the copolymer) to allow both blocks of the copolymer material to wet the floor of the trench. Entropic forces drive the wetting of a neutral wetting surface by both blocks, resulting in the formation of a layer of perpendicular lamellae across the width of each trench.
- In an embodiment shown in
FIGS. 1 and 1A , asubstrate 10 is provided bearing a neutral wetting surface. Thesubstrate 10 can comprise, for example, silicon (with native oxide), oxide (e.g., silicon oxide, SiOx) or an inorganic film. In the illustrated embodiment, aneutral wetting layer 12 is formed on thesubstrate 10 prior to forming an overlying material layer 14 (e.g., oxide). Etching through thematerial layer 14 to form atrench 16 exposes the underlyingneutral wetting layer 12 as a floor orbottom surface 18 of thetrench 16. Adjacent trenches are separated by a spacer orcrest 20. Thetrench 16 is structured with opposingsidewalls 22, opposing ends 24, a width (wt), a length (lt) and a depth (Dt). - A neutral wetting surface can be provided, for example, by applying a neutral wetting polymer to form
layer 12 on the surface of thesubstrate 10. In the use of a self-assembling (SA) diblock copolymer composed of PS-b-PMMA, a random PS:PMMA copolymer brush layer (PS-r-PMMA)), which exhibits non-preferential or neutral wetting toward PS and PMMA can be applied by spin-coating onto the surface ofsubstrate 10. The brush can be affixed by grafting (on an oxide substrate) or by cross-linking (any surface) using UV radiation or thermal processing. For example, a random copolymer solution composed of PS and PMMA with hydroxyl group(s) (e.g., about 58% PS) can be applied to the surface of thesubstrate 10 as a layer about 5-10 nm thick and grafted by heating at about 160° C. for about 48 hours. - In another embodiment, a surface that is neutral wetting to PS-b-PMMA can be prepared by spin coating a blanket layer of a photo- or thermally cross-linkable random copolymer such as a benzocyclobutene- or azidomethylstyrene-functionalized random copolymer of styrene and methyl methacrylate (e.g., poly(styrene-r-benzocyclobutene-r-methyl methacrylate (PS-r-PMMA-r-BCB) onto the surface of the
substrate 10 prior to forming thematerial layer 14. For example, such a random copolymer can comprise about 42% PMMA, about (58-x)% PS and x% (e.g., about 2-3%) of either polybenzocyclobutene or poly(para-azidomethylstyrene)). An azidomethylstyrene-functionalized random copolymer can be UV crosslinked (e.g., 1-5 MW/cm2 exposure for about 15 seconds to about 30 minutes) or thermally crosslinked (e.g., at about 170° C. for about 4 hours). A benzocyclobutene-functionalized random copolymer can be thermally cross-linked (e.g., at about 200° C. for about 4 hours or at about 250° C. for about 10 minutes). - Another neutral wetting surface for PS-b-PMMA can be provided by hydrogen-terminated silicon, which can be prepared by a conventional process, for example, by a fluoride ion etch of a silicon substrate 10 (with native oxide present, about 12-15 Å) for example, by immersion in aqueous solution of hydrogen fluoride (HF) and buffered HF or ammonium fluoride (NH4F), by HF vapor treatment, by exposure to hot H2 vapor, or by a hydrogen plasma treatment (e.g., atomic hydrogen).
- Referring now to
FIG. 1B in another embodiment, thematerial layer 14 can be formed on thesubstrate 10 and etched to form thetrench 16, and theneutral wetting material 12 then applied to thetrench floor 18. For example, trench floors that are neutral wetting to PS-b-PMMA can be prepared by spin coating PS-r-PMMA-r-BCB onto the surface of thesubstrate 10 within the trenches and thermally crosslinking the polymer (e.g., 190° C., 4 hours) to form a crosslinked polymer mat as aneutral wetting layer 12. Capillary forces pull the random copolymer to the bottom of deep trenches. Non-crosslinked polymer material can be subsequently removed. A neutral-wetting polymer (NWP) such as random copolymer of P(S-r-MMA-r-HEMA) can also be grafted selectively to a material layer, e.g., an oxide floor. See, for example, In et al., Langmuir, 2006, 22, 7855-7860, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. In other embodiments, an olefinic monomer such as PMMA or PS can be grafted onto an H-terminated silicon substrate 10 (i.e., floor 18) by an in situ free radical polymerization using a di-olefinic linker such divinyl benzene to produce an about 10-15 nm thick film. - Trench sidewalls 22 and ends 24 are preferential wetting by one block of the copolymer to induce formation of lamellae as the blocks self-assemble. The
material layer 14 defining the trench surfaces can be an inherently preferential wetting material, or in other embodiments, a layer of a preferential wetting material can be applied onto the surfaces of the trenches. - For example, in the use of poly(styrene-block-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA), an oxide (e.g., silicon oxide, SiOx) or a clean silicon surface (with native silicon oxide) exhibits preferential wetting toward the PMMA block to result in the assembly of a thin (e.g., ½ pitch) interface layer of PMMA and alternating PMMA and PS lamellae (e.g., ½ pitch) within each trench in the use of a lamellar-phase block copolymer material. Other preferential wetting surfaces to PMMA can be provided, for example, by silicon nitride, silicon oxycarbide, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) polymer grafted to a sidewall material such as silicon oxide, and resist materials such as methacrylate-based resists. For example, a PMMA that is modified with a moiety containing one or more hydroxyl (—OH) groups (e.g., hydroxyethylmethacrylate) can be applied by spin coating and then heated (e.g., to about 170° C.) to allow the OH groups to end-graft to the
oxide sidewalls 22 and ends 24 of the trenches. Non-grafted material can be removed from theneutral wetting layer 12 by rinsing with an appropriate solvent (e.g., toluene). See, for example, Mansky et al., Science, 1997, 275, 1458-1460, and In et al., Langmuir, 2006, 22, 7855-7860, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein. - The trench sidewalls 22, edges and
floors 18 influence the structuring of the array of nanostructures within thetrenches 16. The boundary conditions of the trench sidewalls 22 in both the x- and y-axis impose a structure wherein eachtrench 16 contains n number of features (i.e., lamellae, cylinders, etc.). Factors in forming a single array or layer of nanostructures within thetrenches 16 include the width and depth of thetrench 16, the formulation of the block copolymer to achieve the desired pitch (Lo), and the thickness (t) of the copolymer film. - The
trenches 16 are constructed with a width (wt) such that a block copolymer (or blend) will self-assemble upon annealing into a single layer of “n” structures spanning the width (wt) of thetrench 16, with each structure (i.e., lamellae, cylinders, etc.) being separated by a value of Lo (from center-to-center). The width (wt) of thetrenches 16 is a multiple of the inherent pitch value (Lo) of the polymer being equal to or about nLo (“n*Lo”), typically ranging from about n*10 to about n*100 nm (with n being the number of features or structures). The depth (Dt) of thetrenches 16 is a multiple of the Lo value of the block copolymer used for the base layer. The application and annealing of a block copolymer material having an inherent pitch value of Lo in a trench having a width (wt) at or about Lo will result in the formation of a single layer of “n” structures spanning the width and registered to the sidewalls for the length of the trench. In some embodiments, thetrench 16 dimension is about 50-500 nm wide (wt) and about 1,000-10,000 μm in length (lt), with a depth (Dt) of about 20-200 nm. - The
trenches 16 can be formed using a lithographic tool having an exposure system capable of patterning at the scale of Lo (10-100 nm). Such exposure systems include, for example, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, proximity X-rays, and electron beam (e-beam) lithography, as known and used in the art. Conventional photolithography can attain (at smallest) about 58 nm features. - Referring now to
FIGS. 2 and 2A , alayer 26 of a self-assembling (SA) lamellar-phase diblock copolymer material having an inherent pitch at or about Lo (or a ternary blend of block copolymer and homopolymers blended to have a pitch at or about Lo) is then deposited, typically by spin casting (spin-coating) onto thefloor 18 of thetrench 16. The block copolymer material can be deposited onto the patterned surface by spin casting from a dilute solution (e.g., about 0.25-2 wt % solution) of the copolymer in an organic solvent such as dichloroethane (CH2Cl2) or toluene, for example. - The thickness (t1) of the
diblock copolymer layer 26 is less than the trench depth (Dt) and at or about the Lo value of the copolymer material such that thediblock copolymer layer 26 will self-assemble upon annealing to form a single layer of lamellae across the width (wt) of the trench. A typical thickness (t1) of thediblock copolymer layer 26 is about 20% of the Lo value of the copolymer (e.g., about 10-100 nm) to form alternating polymer-rich lamellar blocks having a width of about Lo (e.g., 25-35 nm) in a matrix of another block within each trench. The thickness of thediblock copolymer layer 26 can be measured, for example, by ellipsometry techniques. As shown, a thindiblock copolymer layer 26 of the copolymer material can be deposited onto thespacers 20 of thematerial layer 14; this film layer will not self-assemble, as it is not thick enough to form structures. - Although diblock copolymers are used in the illustrative embodiments of this disclosure, other types of block copolymers (i.e., triblock or multiblock copolymers) can be used. Examples of diblock copolymers include poly(styrene-block-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA), polyethyleneoxide-polyisoprene, polyethyleneoxide-polybutadiene, polyethyleleoxide-polystyrene, polyetheleneoxide-polymethylmethacrylate, polystyrene-polyvinylpyridine, polystyrene-polyisoprene (PS-b-PI), polystyrene-polybutadiene, polybutadiene-polyvinylpyridine, and polyisoprene-polymethylmethacrylate, among others. Examples of triblock copolymers include poly(styrene-block methyl methacrylate-block-ethylene oxide). One of the polymer blocks of the block copolymer should be selectively and readily removable in order to fabricate an etch mask or template from the annealed film.
- In embodiments in which the base or template layer is formed from a lamellar-forming diblock copolymer, the volume fractions of the two blocks (AB) are generally at a ratio between about 50:50 and 60:40. To achieve an annealed base film in which the lamellae are surface exposed, the Chi value of the polymer blocks (e.g., PS and PMMA) at common annealing temperatures is generally small such that the air interface is equally or non-selectively wetting to both blocks. An example of a lamellae-forming symmetric diblock copolymer is PS-b-PMMA with a weight ratio of about 50:50 (PS:PMMA) and total molecular weight (Mn) of about 51 kg/mol.
- In embodiments of the invention, the block copolymer material can also be formulated as a binary or ternary blend comprising a SA block copolymer and one or more homopolymers of the same type of polymers as the polymer blocks in the block copolymer, to produce blends that swell the size of the polymer domains and increase the Lo value of the polymer. The volume fraction of the homopolymers can range from 0 to about 40%. An example of a ternary diblock copolymer blend is a PS-b-PMMA/PS/PMMA blend, for example, 46K/21K PS-b-PMMA containing 40% 20K polystyrene and 20K poly(methylmethacrylate). The Lo value of the polymer can also be modified by adjusting the molecular weight of the block copolymer, e.g., for lamellae, Lo (MW)2/3.
- Optionally, ellipticity (“bulging”) can be induced in the structures by creating a slight mismatch between the trench and the spacer widths and the inherent pitch (Lo) of the block copolymer or ternary blend, as described, for example, by Cheng et al., “Self-assembled One-Dimensional Nanostructure Arrays,” Nano Lett., 2006, 6(9), 2099-2103, the disclosure of which are incorporated by reference herein, which then reduces the stresses that result from such mismatches.
- Referring now to
FIGS. 3 and 3A , the firstdiblock copolymer layer 26 is then annealed, for example, by thermal annealing to above the glass transition temperature of the component blocks of the copolymer material to cause the polymer blocks to phase separate and self-assemble according to the preferential and neutral wetting of the trench surfaces 18, 22, 24 to form a self-assembledpolymer structure 28. For example, a PS-b-PMMA copolymer film can be annealed at a temperature of about 180-285° C. in a vacuum oven for about 1-120 hours to achieve the self-assembled morphology. The film can also be solvent annealed, for example, by slowly swelling both blocks of the film with a solvent, then slowly evaporating the solvent. - The constraints provided by the width (w1) of the trenches and the character of the copolymer composition combined with preferential or neutral wetting surfaces within the trenches results, upon annealing, in a single layer of n elements (lamellae) across the width (wt) of the trench. The number “n” or pitches of elements (e.g., lamellar blocks) or half-cylinders within a trench is according to the width (wt) of the trench and the molecular weight (MW) of the block copolymer. As shown in
FIG. 3A , a lamellar-phase block copolymer material used to form thebase layer 28 will, upon annealing, self-assemble into perpendicular-oriented, alternating polymer-rich blocks trench 16 at an average pitch value at or about Lo. For example, depositing and annealing an about 50:50 PS:PMMA block copolymer film (Mn=51 kg/mol; L0=32 nm) in an about 250 nm wide trench will subdivide the trench into about eight (8) lamellar structures. - The resulting morphologies of the annealed base film 28 (i.e., perpendicular orientation of lamellae) can be examined, for example, using atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
- The annealed and ordered
base film 28 is then treated to crosslink the polymer segments to fix and enhance the strength of the self-assembled polymer blocks 30, 32 within the trench 16 (e.g., to crosslink the PS segments). The polymers can be structured to inherently crosslink (e.g., upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, including deep ultraviolet (DUV) radiation), or one or both of the polymer blocks 30, 32 of the copolymer material can be formulated to contain a crosslinking agent. The material ofdiblock copolymer layer 26 outside the trench (e.g., on spacer 20) can then be removed. - For example, in one embodiment, the trench regions can be selectively exposed through a reticle to crosslink only the self-assembled
film 28 within thetrench 16, and a wash can then be applied with an appropriate solvent (e.g., toluene), to remove the non-crosslinked portions of the film 28 (e.g., material of thediblock copolymer layer 26 on the spacer 20) leaving the registered self-assembled base film within thetrench 16 and exposing the surface ofmaterial layer 14 above/outside the trench 16 (e.g., the spacer 20). In another embodiment, the annealedfilm 28 can be crosslinked globally, a photoresist layer can be applied to pattern and expose the areas of the film outside the trench regions (e.g., over the spacers 20), and the exposed portions of the film can be removed, for example by an oxygen (O2) plasma treatment. In other embodiments, thespacers 20 are narrow in width, for example, a width (ws) of one of the copolymer domains (e.g., about Lo) such that the material ofdiblock copolymer layer 26 on the spacers is minimal and no removal is required. - Referring now to
FIGS. 4 and 4A , alayer 34 a of a lamellar-phase block copolymer material having an inherent pitch at or about Lo (or a ternary blend of block copolymer and homopolymers blended to have a pitch at or about Lo) is then deposited (e.g., by spin casting) onto the annealed andcrosslinked base film 28 within the trench. The block copolymer material can be spin cast, for example, from a dilute solution of the copolymer in an organic solvent (e.g., about 0.25-2 wt % solution). - The lamellar-phase
block copolymer layer 34 a is cast onto thebase film 28 within thetrench 16 to a thickness (t2) at or about the Lo value of the block copolymer material such that, upon annealing, the lamellar-phaseblock copolymer layer 34 a will self-assemble to form a single layer of perpendicular-oriented lamellar domains, each having a width (w2) at or about 0.5 Lo. - As shown in
FIGS. 5 and 5A , annealing of the lamellar-phaseblock copolymer layer 34 a is then conducted to cause the polymer blocks to separate and self-assemble into afilm 36 a composed of perpendicular-oriented lamellar-phase domains polymer domains base layer 28. Annealing can be conducted, for example, over a range of about 110-290° C. for a PS-b-PMMA copolymer film. The annealedfilm 36 a is then crosslinked, and thenon-ordered copolymer material 34 a on thematerial layer 14 outside thetrench 16 can be removed (e.g., by solvent wash, O2 plasma treatment) resulting in the structure shown inFIG. 5A . - Referring now to
FIG. 6 , asecond layer 34 b of the lamellar-phase block copolymer material can be deposited to a thickness (t2) at or about Lo onto the annealed andcrosslinked film 36 a. The second lamellar-phaseblock copolymer layer 34 b can then be annealed such that the polymer blocks self-assemble into afilm 36 b of perpendicular-oriented lamellar-phase domains film 36 b can be a crosslinked and non-ordered copolymer material of second lamellar-phaseblock copolymer layer 34 b outside thetrench 16 can be removed, as illustrated inFIG. 7 . This process can be repeated as desired to deposit and form additional layers of the lamellar-phase block copolymer to result in afilm structure 42 of a desired thickness (T). In embodiments of the invention, the aspect ratio of the openings formed in the multilayered film is at least about two times the aspect ratio that can be provided by similar single layer films, and can be increased with the addition of film layers, generally at least about 1:2 and ranging from about 1:2 to about 1:20. - Referring now to
FIGS. 8 and 8A , one of the block components can be selectively removed to produce athin film 44 that can be used, for example, as a lithographic template or mask to pattern the underlyingsubstrate 10 in a semiconductor processing to define regular patterns in the nanometer size range (i.e., about 10-100 nm). Within thetrench 16, selective removal of one of the polymer blocks of each of thelayers base film 28 is performed. - For example, as illustrated in
FIG. 8A , selective removal of one of thepolymer domains 30, 38 a-b (e.g., PMMA) will result in openings (slits) 46 separated by vertically orientedwalls 48 composed ofpolymer domains 32, 40 a-b (e.g., PS), and the trench floor 18 (e.g., neutral wetting layer 12) exposed. Removal of PMMA phase domains can be performed, for example, by application of an oxygen (O2) or CF4 plasma. - In embodiments in which the PS phase domains are removed, the openings (slits) are separated by walls composed of the PMMA domains.
- In some embodiments, the resulting
film 44 has a corrugated surface that defines a linear pattern of fine, nanometer-scale, parallel slits (openings) 46 about 5-50 nm wide and several microns in length (e.g., about 10-4000 μm), the individual slits separated bywalls 48 about 5-50 nm wide, providing an aspect ratio ranging from about 1:2 to about 1:20. For example, removal of the PMMA domains affords a PS mask of sublithographic dimensions, for example, a pitch of about 35 nm (17.5 nm PS domain). A smaller pitch can be dialed in by using lower molecular weight diblock copolymers. - The films can be used, for example, as a lithographic template or etch mask to pattern (arrows ↓↓) the underlying
substrate 10, for example, by a non-selective RIE etching process, to delineate a series of channels orgrooves 50, shown in phantom inFIG. 8A , and extending to an active area orelement 51 a. In some embodiments, thechannels 50 can then be filled with a material 51 b as illustrated inFIG. 8B , for example, a conductive material (e.g., metal) to form nanowire channel arrays for transistor channels, semiconductor capacitors, and other structures, or with a dielectric material to separate active areas (e.g., substrate 10). Further processing can then be performed as desired. - The films provide linear arrays having long range ordering and registration for a wide field of coverage for templating a substrate. The films are useful as etch masks for producing close pitched nanoscale channel and grooves that are several microns in length, for producing features such as floating gates for NAND flash with nanoscale dimensions. By comparison, photolithography techniques are unable to produce channels much below 60 nm wide without high expense. Resolution can exceed other techniques such as conventional photolithography, while fabrication costs utilizing methods of the disclosure are far less than electron beam (E-beam) or EUV photolithographies which have comparable resolution.
- A method according to another embodiment of the invention for forming a thin film that defines a linear array pattern utilizing a base layer formed from a cylindrical-phase block copolymer is illustrated with reference to
FIGS. 9-18 . The base layer, upon annealing, forms lines of half-cylinders in a polymer matrix extending the length and oriented parallel to the sidewalls and floor of the trenches. The assembled base film can then be used as a template for inducing the ordering of an overlying lamellar-phase block copolymer film such that the lamellar domains of the annealed film are oriented perpendicularly and registered to the underlying pattern of the half-cylinders of the base film. - Referring to
FIGS. 9 and 9A , in embodiments using a cylindrical-phase block copolymer to form thebase polymer film 26′ within thetrench 16′, the surfaces of thefloor 18′, sidewalls 22′ and ends 24′ of the trench are preferential wetting by the minority block of the copolymer to induce formation of parallel lines of half-cylinders of the minority block wetting the air interface (surface exposed) down the middle of each trench aligned parallel to the trench sidewalls and floor. For example,substrate 10′ can be composed of an inherently preferential wetting material such as a clean silicon surface (with native silicon oxide) andmaterial layer 14′ can be composed of oxide (e.g., SiOx). Both materials exhibit preferential wetting toward the PMMA block to result in the assembly of a thin interface layer of PMMA on the trench sidewalls as well as PMMA cylinders in the center of a PS matrix within each trench. Other preferential wetting surfaces to PMMA can be provided, for example, by silicon nitride, silicon oxycarbide, and PMMA polymer grafted to a sidewall material such as silicon oxide, and resist materials such as such as methacrylate-based resists. See, for example, C. T. Black and O. Bezencenet, “Nanometer-Scale Pattern Registration and Alignment by Directed Diblock Copolymer Self-Assembly,” IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology, 2004, 3(3), 412-415; C. T. Black, “Self-Aligned self-assembly of multi-nanowire silicon field effect transistors,” Applied Physics Letters, 2005, 87, 163116; R. Ruiz, R. L. Sandstrom and C. T. Black, “Induced Orientational Order in Symmetric Diblock Copolymer Thin-Films,” Advanced Materials, 2007, 19(4), 587-591, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein. - In using a cylindrical-phase block copolymer, the depth (Dt) of the
trench 16′ is less than Lo In some embodiments, the trench dimension is about 50-2000 nm wide (wt) with a depth (D) of about 15-25 nm. As shown inFIGS. 10 and 10A , alayer 26′ of the cylinder-forming block copolymer material (inherent pitch at or about Lo) is deposited onto thefloor 18′ of thetrench 16′ to a thickness (t1) greater than the trench depth (Dt) but less than about the Lo value of the block copolymer material such that the copolymer cylindrical-phase block layer 26′ will self-assemble upon annealing to form a single layer of parallel-oriented half-cylinders of one block having a diameter of about Lo in a matrix of another block as parallel lines across the width (wt) of the trench. The number “n” or pitches of half-cylinders within a trench is according to the width (wt) of the trench (e.g., about nLo) and the molecular weight (MW) of the block copolymer. - The cylindrical-phase block copolymer can be a diblock or multiblock copolymer, and the copolymer material can be formulated as a binary or ternary blend comprising a homopolymer(s), as previously described. In embodiments in which the base layer is formed using a cylindrical-phase diblock copolymer, the volume fractions of the two blocks (AB) are generally at a ratio between about 60:40 and 80:20. An example of a cylindrical phase diblock copolymer material is PS-b-PMMA (Lo=35 nm) composed of about 70% PS and 30% PMMA (weight ratio of 70:30) with a total molecular weight (Mn) of 67 kg/mol to form about 20 nm diameter half-cylinder PMMA domains in a matrix of PS. To achieve an annealed base film in which the half-cylinders are surface exposed, the Chi value of the polymer blocks (e.g., PS and PMMA) at common annealing temperatures and the difference between interfacial energies of each block and the air is generally small, such that the air interface is equally or non-selectively wetting to both blocks.
- Referring now to
FIGS. 11 and 11A , the cylindrical-phaseblock copolymer film 26′ is annealed to form thebase layer 28′, resulting in parallel-oriented half-cylinders 30′ within apolymer matrix 32′ spanning the width (wt) of thetrench 16′, with each cylinder being separated by an average value of at or about Lo, and aninterface layer 30 a′ along thesidewalls 22′ andfloor 18′. For example, depositing and annealing a 70/30 PS:PMMA block copolymer film (Mn=67 kg/mol; Lo=35 nm) in an about 250 nm wide trench will subdivide the trench into about seven (7) half-cylinder structures. As shown, a thin cylindrical-phaseblock copolymer film 26′ of the copolymer material deposited on the spacers or crests 20′ of the material 14′ between trenches is not thick enough to self-assemble. In some embodiments, thespacers 20′ between the trenches are narrow, for example, having a width (ws) of one of the copolymer domains such that the material of cylindrical-phaseblock copolymer film 26′ on thespacers 20′ is essentially nonexistent. - The annealed
base film 28′ is then be treated to crosslink the polymer segments (e.g., to crosslink thePS matrix 32′). As previously described, the polymers can be structured to inherently crosslink, or one or both of the polymer blocks of the copolymer material can he formulated to contain a crosslinking agent. - As shown in
FIGS. 12 and 12A , alayer 34 a′ of a lamellar-phase block copolymer material (inherent pitch at or about Lo) is then deposited onto the annealed andcrosslinked base film 28′ to a thickness (t2) at or about the Lo value of the lamellar-phase block copolymer material. The lamellar-phase block copolymer material can be structured and formulated as previously described with respect to the embodiment ofFIGS. 1-8 . The volume fractions of the two blocks (AB) of a lamellar-forming diblock copolymer are generally at a ratio between about 50:50 and 60:40, an example being a PS-b-PMMA copolymer at a 50:50 weight ratio (Mn of about 51 kg/mol), with a generally small difference in interfacial energies of each block with air to produce surface-exposed lamellae. - Subsequent annealing of the material of lamellar-phase
block copolymer layer 34 a′ results in a self-assembledfilm 36 a′ composed of a single layer of perpendicular-oriented lamellar-phase domains 38 a′, 40 a′ in a striped pattern, which are ordered and registered, respectively, to thepolymer domains 30′, 32′ of the cylindrical-phase base layer 28′, as illustrated inFIGS. 13 and 13A , with each domain having a width (w2) of about Lo. The copolymer material of lamellar-phaseblock copolymer layer 34 a′ on thespacers 20′ may self-assemble but without registration or long-range order. The annealedfilm 36 a′ is then treated to crosslink the polymer segments (e.g.,PS domains 40 a′), as previously described. - Referring now to
FIG. 14 , asecond layer 34 b′ of a lamellar-phase block copolymer material can then be deposited onto the previously annealed andcrosslinked film 36 a′ to a thickness (t2) at or about Lo. The second lamellar-phaseblock copolymer layer 34 b′ can then be annealed to form asecond film layer 36 b′ composed of lamellar-phase domains 38 b′, 40 b′ oriented and registered to the underlying polymer blocks 38 a′, 40 a′, resulting in the structure shown inFIG. 15 . Thecopolymer material 34 b′ over thecopolymer layer 34 a′ on thespacers 20′ may self-assemble but without registration or long-range order. Thefilm 36 b′ can then be crosslinked, and additional layers of the lamellar-phase block copolymer can be deposited, annealed and crosslinked to form afilm structure 42′ of the desired thickness (T). The additional layers of the self-assembled and crosslinked film can be added to increase the aspect ratio of the openings subsequently formed in the multilayered film. - The non-ordered material of lamellar-phase block copolymer layers 34 a′, 34 b′ remaining on the
spacers 20′ can then be removed resulting in the structure shown inFIG. 16 . For example, a solvent wash can be applied to remove residual copolymer material from thespacers 20′ that has not been cross-linked (e.g., it was masked during crosslinking of the polymer layers). Photo-patterning and a selective O2 plasma etch can be used to remove crosslinked polymer material from thespacers 20′. - Selective removal of one of the polymer blocks of the layers 36 a-36 b′ and the
base film 28′ can then be performed to produce thethin film 44′ with openings/slits that expose theunderlying substrate 10′ and can be used as an etch mask. In the removal of the lamellar domains 38 a-38 b′ and the half-cylinders domains 30′ (e.g., PMMA), thematrix 32′ (e.g., PS) situated underneath the half-cylinders 30′ and over thetrench floor 18′ remains as shown by theintermediate structure 43′ inFIG. 17 . That portion ofmatrix 32′ can be removed, for example, by a plasma O2 or CF4 etch, prior to a patterning process to expose theunderlying substrate 10′, resulting in thefilm 44′ illustrated inFIGS. 18 and 18A . - The film can be used, for example, to pattern (arrows ↓↓) the underlying
substrate 10′ to delineate a series of channels orgrooves 50′, shown in phantom inFIG. 18A , to an active area orelement 51 a′, which can then be filled with a material 51 b′, for example, a conductive metal or dielectric material, as depicted inFIG. 18B . - A method according to another embodiment of the invention for forming thin films of a cylindrical-phase self-assembling block copolymer that define an array of perpendicularly-oriented cylinders in a polymer matrix is illustrated with reference to
FIGS. 19-25 . The described embodiment utilizes topographical features, the sidewalls and ends of trenches, as constraints to induce orientation and registration of cylindrical copolymer domains to achieve a hexagonal array of perpendicularly-oriented cylinders within a polymer matrix registered to the trench sidewalls. - As described with reference to
FIGS. 1 and 1A , atrench 16″ is etched in amaterial layer 14″ to expose a neutral wetting surface on anunderlying substrate 10″. The width (wt) of thetrench 16″ is at or about nLo. The ends 24″ are angled to thesidewalls 22″ as shown, for example, at an about 60° angle, and in some embodiments are slightly rounded. - The trenches are also structured such that the
trench floor 18″ is neutral wetting to both blocks of the copolymer material, and thesidewalls 22″ and ends 24″ are preferential wetting by the minority block of the copolymer. Entropic forces drive the wetting of a neutral-wetting surface by both blocks, resulting in a perpendicular orientation of the self-assembled cylinders. In the illustrated example, thematerial layer 14″ is composed of silicon oxide (SiOx) and thesubstrate 10″ is composed of silicon. As previously described, aneutral wetting layer 12″ can be provided, for example, by applying a neutral wetting polymer on the surface of thesubstrate 10″ before forming thematerial layer 14″, and thetrenches 16″ can be etched expose theneutral wetting layer 12″ forming thetrench floors 18″. For example, in the use of a PS-b-PMMA diblock copolymer, a random copolymer brush layer (e.g., PS-r-PMMA, PS-r-PMMA-r-BCB, etc.) can be blanket deposited and grafted/crosslinked to thesubstrate 10″. Another neutral wetting surface for PS-b-PMMA can be provided by hydrogen-terminated silicon, or by PS-r-PMMA (˜60 mol % PS) graft polymerized in situ onto H-terminated silicon. - As previously described, sidewalls 22″ and ends 24″ that are preferential wetting toward the PMMA block of a PS-b-PMMA diblock copolymer can be provided by a
material layer 14″ composed of silicon oxide (SiOx), silicon nitride, silicon oxycarbide, a PMMA polymer modified with a moiety containing hydroxyl (—OH) group(s) (e.g., hydroxyethylmethacrylate) grafted to a sidewall material such as silicon oxide, and resist materials such as such as methacrylate based resists. Upon annealing, the PMMA block of the PS-b-PMMA copolymer layer will segregate to the sidewalls and ends of the trench to form a wetting layer (30 a″ inFIGS. 19 and 19A ). - As illustrated in
FIGS. 2 and 2A , a cylindrical-phasediblock copolymer material 26″ having an inherent pitch at or about Lo (or blend with homopolymers) is deposited onto theneutral wetting layer 12″ on thefloor 18″ of thetrench 16″ to a thickness (t1) of less than or about equal to the Lo value of the copolymer material to up to about 1.5×Lo, such that the copolymer film layer will self-assemble upon annealing to form a hexagonal array of perpendicular cylindrical domains having a diameter of about 0.5 Lo (e.g., about 20 nm) in the middle of a polymer matrix within each trench (e.g., with the adjacent cylindrical domains having a center-to-center distance of at or about Lo (e.g., about 35 nm). In embodiments in which the base or template layer is formed from a cylinder-forming diblock copolymer, the volume fractions of the two blocks (AB) are generally at a ratio between about 60:40 and 80:20. An example of a cylindrical-phase PS-b-PMMA copolymer material (Lo=35 nm) is composed of about 70% PS and 30% PMMA with a total molecular weight (Mn) of 67 kg/mol, to form about 20 nm diameter cylindrical PMMA domains in a matrix of PS. - Referring now to
FIGS. 19 and 19A , the cylindrical-phasediblock copolymer film 26″ is then annealed, resulting in abase film 28″. The character of the cylindrical-phasediblock copolymer composition 26″ combined with a neutralwetting trench floor 18″ and preferential wetting sidewalls 22″ and ends 24″, and constraints provided by the width (wt) oftrench 16″ results, upon annealing, in a hexagonal array of perpendicularly-orientedcylindrical domains 30″ of the minor polymer block (i.e., like domains) (e.g., PMMA) within amatrix 32″ of the major polymer block (e.g., PS). Athin layer 30 a″ of the minor polymer block (e.g., PMMA) wets thesidewalls 18″. The hexagonal array contains n single rows of cylinders according to the width (wt) of the trench with thecylinders 30″ in each row being offset by about Lo (pitch distance or center-to-center distance) from the cylinders in the adjacent rows. Each row contains a number of cylinders, generally m cylinders, which number can vary according to the length (lt) of the trench and the shape of the trench end (e.g., rounded, angled, etc.) with some rows having greater or less than m cylinders. The pitch distance between eachcylinder 30″ (within a row) is generally at or about Lo. - The annealed cylindrical-
phase base film 28″ is then treated to crosslink the polymer segments (e.g., to crosslink thePS matrix 32″). As previously described, the polymers can be structured to inherently crosslink, or one or both of the polymer blocks of the copolymer material can be formulated to contain a crosslinking agent. The polymer material remaining on thespacers 20″ can then be removed as previously described. - As shown in
FIGS. 20 and 20A , alayer 34 a″ of a cylindrical-phase block copolymer material (inherent pitch at or about Lo) is then deposited onto the annealed andcrosslinked base film 28″ to a thickness (t2) at or about the Lo value of the cylindrical-phaseblock copolymer material 36 a″. Subsequent annealing of the material of cylindrical-phaseblock copolymer layer 34 a″ results in afilm 36 a″ composed of a single layer of a hexagonal array of perpendicular-orientedcylindrical domains 38 a″ within apolymer matrix 40 a″ which are ordered and registered to the underlyingcylindrical domains 30″ andmatrix 32″ of thebase layer 28″, as illustrated inFIGS. 21 and 21A , with thecylinders 38 a″ spaced apart and aligned with thecylinders 30″ of thebase layer 28″, e.g., at a pitch distance (p) at or about Lo*cos(π/6) or 0.833 Lo distance between two parallel lines where one line bisects the cylinders in a given row and the other line bisects the cylinders in an adjacent row, and at a pitch distance (p) at or about Lo between cylinders in the same row and an adjacent row. - The annealed
film 36 a″ is then treated to crosslink the polymer segments (e.g.,PS matrix 40 a″) and the polymer material on thespacers 20″ removed, as previously described. Asecond layer 34 b″ of the cylindrical-phase block copolymer material can be deposited onto the annealed andcrosslinked film 36 a″ to a thickness (t2) at or about Lo (FIG. 22 ), and annealed to form asecond film layer 36 b″ composed of perpendicular-orientedcylindrical domains 38 b″ in amatrix 40 b″ which are oriented and registered to theunderlying cylinders 38 a″ andmatrix 40 a″, as depicted inFIG. 23 . Thefilm 36 b″ is then crosslinked, and the polymer material on thespacers 20″ can be removed to produce thefilm structure 42″ as shown. Additional layers of the cylindrical-phase diblock copolymer can be deposited, annealed and crosslinked to form a film structure of a desired thickness (T) and to increase the aspect ratio of the openings formed in the multilayered film. - One of the block components can then be selectively removed from the
film 42″, leaving either thematrix 48″ to produce afilm 44 a″ composed of a hexagonal array ofcylindrical openings 46″ as inFIGS. 24 and 24A , or thecylindrical domains 52″ to produce afilm 44 b″ as inFIGS. 25 and 25A . After selective removal of one of the polymer domains, the resultingfilms 44 a″, 44 b″ can be used, for example, as a lithographic template or mask to pattern the underlyingsubstrate 10″ in a semiconductor processing to define regular patterns in the nanometer size range (i.e., about 5-50 nm). - For example, referring to
FIGS. 24 and 24A , selective removal of theminor block cylinders 30″, 38 a-38 b″ (e.g., PMMA) will result in afilm 44 a″ composed of a hexagonal array ofopenings 46″ within thematrix 48″ of the major block (e.g., PS), the openings having a diameter of about 5-50 nm and an aspect ratio generally at least about 1:2 and ranging from about 1:2 to about 1:20. Thefilm 44 a″ can be used as an etch mask to pattern (arrows ↓↓) the underlyingsubstrate 10″ to form an array ofopenings 50″ in thesubstrate 10″ (shown in phantom inFIG. 24A ) to an active area orelement 51 a″. Further processing can then be performed as desired, for example, the removal of theresidual matrix 48″ (e.g., PS) and filling of theopenings 50″ insubstrate 10″ with a material 51 b″, as shown inFIG. 24B , for example, with a metal or conductive alloy such as Cu, Al, W, Si, and Ti3N4, among others, to form contacts, for example, to an underlying active area orconductive line 51 a″, or with a metal-insulator-metal-stack to form capacitors with an insulating material such as SiO2, Al2O3, HfO2, ZrO2, SrTiO3, among other dielectrics. - In another embodiment illustrated in
FIGS. 25 and 25A , the selective removal of themajor block matrix 32″140 a-40 b″ (e.g., PMMA) will provide afilm 44 b″ composed of a hexagonal array ofminor block cylinders 52″ (e.g., PS). Such an embodiment would require a majority PMMA block copolymer and sidewalls composed of a material that is selectively PS-wetting (e.g., a gold sidewall or PS-grafted to the sidewall material). Thefilm 44 b″ composed ofcylinders 52″ can be used as an etch mask (arrows ↓↓) to etch apatterned opening 54″ in theunderlying substrate 10″ (shown in phantom inFIG. 25A ) with thesubstrate 10″ etched to form cylinders masked by thecylindrical elements 52″ of thefilm 44 b″. Further processing can then be conducted, for example, the removal of theresidual cylinders 52″ of thepolymer mask 44 b″ and the deposition of a material 51 b″ distinct fromsubstrate 10″ into theopening 54″ to provide a differential surface, as illustrated inFIG. 25B . For example,openings 54″ in asilicon substrate 10″ can be filled with a dielectric material such as SiO2, with the cylinders of theresidual substrate 10″ (e.g., of silicon) providing contacts to an underlying active area ormetal lines 51 a″. - In an embodiment of a method to produce a one-dimensional (1-D) array of perpendicularly-oriented cylinders as illustrated in
FIGS. 26-32 , the foregoing process for forming a hexagonal array of cylinders with a cylindrical-phase block copolymer can be modified by utilizing the trench sidewalls and ends as constraints to induce orientation and registration of cylindrical copolymer domains in a single row parallel to the trench sidewalls. - In embodiments to provide a single row of cylinders within a polymer matrix, a
trench 16′″ is structured to have a width (wt) that is at or about the Lo value of the block copolymer material, afloor 18′″ that is neutral wetting to both blocks of the copolymer material, and sidewalls 22′″ and ends 24′″ that are preferential wetting by the minority block of the copolymer. In the illustrated example, thematerial layer 14′″ (e.g., SiOx, SiN, etc.) exposed on thesidewalls 22′″ and ends 24′″ is preferential wetting toward the PMMA block of a PS-b-PMMA diblock copolymer, and thesubstrate 10′″ (e.g., silicon) bears aneutral wetting layer 12′″ (e.g., a neutral wetting polymer, H-terminated silicon) which is exposed at thetrench floors 18′″. - A cylindrical-phase diblock
copolymer material film 26′″ having an inherent pitch at or about Lo (or blend with homopolymers) can be deposited onto theneutral wetting layer 12′″ on thetrench floor 18′″ to a thickness (t1) of less than or about equal to the Lo value of the copolymer material to up to about 1.5×Lo (as shown inFIGS. 2 and 2A ). The cylindrical-phase diblockcopolymer material film 26′″ is then annealed, whereupon the copolymer film layer will self-assemble to form abase film 28′″, as illustrated inFIGS. 26 and 26A . The constraints provided by the width (wt) oftrench 16′″ and the character of the cylindrical-phase diblockcopolymer material film 26′″ combined with a neutralwetting trench floor 18′″ and preferential wetting sidewalls 22′″ and ends 24′″ results in a one-dimensional (1-D) array or single row of perpendicularly-orientedcylindrical domains 30′″ of the minority polymer block (e.g., PMMA) within amatrix 32′″ of the major polymer block (e.g., PS), with the minority block segregating to thesidewalls 18′″ of the trench to form awetting layer 30 a′″. In some embodiments, the cylinders have a diameter at or about 0.5 Lo (e.g., about 20 nm), the number n of cylinders in the row is according to the length of the trench, and the center-to-center distance (pitch distance) (p) between each like domain (cylinder) is at or about Lo (e.g., about 35 nm). The annealed cylindrical-phase base film 28′″ is then treated to crosslink the polymer segments (e.g., thePS matrix 32′″). - Processing can then be continued to form a cylindrical-phase
block copolymer layer 36 a′″ on the base film (FIG. 27 ), which upon annealing results in a single layer of perpendicularcylindrical domains 38 a′″ within apolymer matrix 40 a′″, which are ordered and registered to the underlyingcylindrical domains 30′″ andmatrix 32′″ of thebase layer 28′″ (FIG. 28 ). Thefilm 36 a′″ is then treated to crosslink the polymer segments (e.g.,PS matrix 40 a′″) as previously described. Asecond layer 34 b′″ of the cylindrical-phase block copolymer can then be deposited onto the annealed/crosslinked film 36 a′″ to a thickness (t2) at or about Lo (FIG. 29 ) and annealed. The resultingfilm 36 b′″ (FIG. 30 ) is composed of perpendicular-orientedcylindrical domains 38 b′″ in amatrix 40 b′″ oriented and registered to theunderlying cylinders 38 a′″ andmatrix 40 a′″ offilm 36 a′″. Thefilm 36 b′″ is crosslinked, and non-ordered polymer material on thespacers 20′″ can be removed to produce thefilm structure 42′″. - Additional layers of the cylindrical-phase diblock copolymer can be deposited, annealed and crosslinked to form a film structure of a desired thickness (T).
- Selective removal of one of the block components can then be performed resulting in a
film 44 a′″ composed of thematrix 48′″ with a 1-D array ofcylindrical openings 46′″ as inFIGS. 31 and 31A . In another embodiment, selective removal of thematrix components 32′″/40 a-40 b′″ produces afilm 44 b′″ composed of a 1-D array ofcylinders 52′″ as inFIGS. 32 and 32A . The film can be used as a mask to etch the underlyingsubstrate 10′″. - For example, referring to
FIGS. 31 and 31A , selective removal of theminor block cylinders 30′″, 38 a-38 b′″ (e.g., PMMA) will result in afilm 44A′″ composed of a 1-D array ofopenings 46′″ within thematrix 48′″ of the major block (e.g., PS), the openings having a diameter of about 5-50 nm and an aspect ratio of about 1:2 to about 1:20. Thefilm 44A′″ can be used as an etch mask to pattern (arrows ↓↓) the underlyingsubstrate 10′″ to form an array ofopenings 50′″ (shown in phantom inFIG. 31A ) extending to an active area orelement 51 a′″. Theresidual film 44A′″ can then be removed and theopenings 50′″ in thesubstrate 10′″ can be filled as shown inFIG. 31B with a material 51 b′″, for example, a metal or conductive alloy to provide a 1-D array of contacts to an underlying active area orline contact 51 a′″, for example, or with metal-insulator-metal-stacks to form capacitors. Further processing can then be performed as desired. - In another embodiment depicted in
FIGS. 32 and 32A , the selective removal of the majorblock matrix components 32′″, 40 a-40 b′″ (e.g., PMMA) will provide afilm 44 b′″ composed of a 1-D array of theminor block cylinders 52′″ (e.g., PS). Thefilm 44 b′″ can be used as a mask or template in an etch process (arrows ↓↓) to form apatterned opening 54′″ (shown in phantom inFIG. 32A ) in theunderlying substrate 10′″, with themasked substrate 10′″ etched to form cylinders. Theresidual cylinders 52′″ of thepolymer mask 44 b′″ can then be removed and a material 51 b′″ such as a dielectric material (e.g., oxide) that is distinct from thesubstrate 10′″ (e.g., silicon) can be deposited to fill theopening 54″ as shown inFIG. 32B , to provide a differential surface to thesubstrate 10″ cylinders, which can provide contacts to an underlying active area ormetal line 51 a′″, for example. - Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement which is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations that operate according to the principles of the invention as described. Therefore, it is intended that this invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof. The disclosures of patents, references and publications cited in the application are incorporated by reference herein.
Claims (20)
1. A semiconductor structure, comprising:
a first self-assembled block copolymer material within a trench in a substrate, the first self-assembled block copolymer material comprising self-assembled polymer domains registered to sidewalls of the trench and extending a length of the trench; and
a second self-assembled block copolymer material overlying the first self-assembled block copolymer material, the second self-assembled block copolymer material comprising self-assembled polymer domains overlying and registered to the self-assembled polymer domains of the first self-assembled block copolymer material,
wherein the first self-assembled block copolymer material comprises a different material from the second self-assembled block copolymer material.
2. The semiconductor structure of claim 1 , wherein the first self-assembled block copolymer material comprises alternating lamellar domains perpendicular to a floor of the trench and parallel to the sidewalls of the trench.
3. The semiconductor structure of claim 2 , wherein the second self-assembled block copolymer material comprises alternating lamellar domains overlying and registered to the alternating lamellar domains of the first self-assembled block copolymer material, the overlying alternating lamellar domains perpendicular to the floor of the trench and parallel to the sidewalls.
4. The semiconductor structure of claim 1 , wherein the first self-assembled block copolymer material comprises self-assembled cylindrical domains perpendicular to a floor of the trench.
5. The semiconductor structure of claim 4 , wherein the first self-assembled block copolymer material comprises a single row of the self-assembled cylinder domains.
6. The semiconductor structure of claim 5 , wherein the second self-assembled block copolymer material comprises self-assembled cylindrical domains overlying and registered to the cylindrical domains of the first self-assembled block copolymer material and perpendicular to the floor of the trench.
7. The semiconductor structure of claim 4 , wherein the first self-assembled block copolymer material comprises a hexagonal array of the self-assembled cylinder domains.
8. The semiconductor structure of claim 7 , wherein the second self-assembled block copolymer material comprises self-assembled cylindrical domains overlying and registered to the cylindrical domains of the first self-assembled block copolymer material and perpendicular to the floor of the trench.
9. The semiconductor structure of claim 1 , wherein the first self-assembled block copolymer material comprises half-cylindrical domains parallel to a floor and the sidewalls of the trench.
10. The semiconductor structure of claim 9 , wherein the second self-assembled block copolymer material comprises lamellar domains overlying and registered to the half-cylindrical domains of the first self-assembled block copolymer material, the overlying lamellar domains perpendicular to the floor of the trench.
11. A template, comprising lines extending a length of a trench in a substrate and separated by openings exposing a floor of the trench,
wherein each of the lines comprises a first self-assembled block copolymer material and a second self-assembled block copolymer material overlying the first self-assembled block copolymer material, the first self-assembled block copolymer material comprising a different material than the second self-assembled block copolymer material,
wherein the first self-assembled block copolymer material comprises self-assembled polymer domains registered to sidewalls of the trench and extending the length of the trench, and
wherein the second self-assembled block copolymer material comprises self-assembled polymer domains overlying and registered to the self-assembled polymer domains of the first self-assembled block copolymer material.
12. The template of claim 11 , wherein the lines are separated by the openings arranged in a hexagonal array perpendicular to the floor of the trench.
13. The template of claim 11 , wherein the lines are separated by the openings arranged in a single row perpendicular to the floor of the trench.
14. The template of claim 11 , wherein:
the first self-assembled block copolymer material comprises self-assembled cylindrical domains perpendicular to the floor of the trench and extending the length of the trench, and
the second self-assembled block copolymer material comprises self-assembled cylindrical domains overlying and registered to the self-assembled cylindrical domains of the first self-assembled block copolymer material and perpendicular to the floor of the trench.
15. The template of claim 11 , wherein:
the first self-assembled block copolymer material comprises self-assembled half-cylindrical domains parallel to the sidewalls and floor of the trench, and
the second self-assembled block copolymer material comprises lamellar domains overlying and registered to the self-assembled half-cylindrical domains of the first self-assembled block copolymer material, the overlying lamellar domains perpendicular to the floor of the trench.
16. The template of claim 11 , wherein:
the first self-assembled block copolymer material comprises self-assembled lamellar domains perpendicular to the floor of the trench, and
the second self-assembled block copolymer material comprises lamellar domains overlying and registered to the self-assembled lamellar domains of the first self-assembled block copolymer material, the overlying lamellar domains perpendicular to the floor of the trench.
17. The template of claim 11 , wherein the openings have an aspect ratio from about 1:2 to about 1:20.
18. A method of forming a semiconductor structure, comprising:
forming a first self-assembled block copolymer material within a trench in a substrate, the first self-assembled block copolymer material comprising self-assembled polymer domains of a minor block of a first block copolymer material registered to sidewalls of the trench and extending a length of the trench;
forming a second self-assembled block copolymer material over the first self-assembled block copolymer material, the second self-assembled block copolymer material distinct from the first self-assembled block copolymer material, the second self-assembled block copolymer material comprising self-assembled polymer domains overlying and registered to the self-assembled polymer domains of the minor block of the first block copolymer material;
removing the self-assembled polymer domains of the minor block of the first block copolymer material along with the overlying and registered self-assembled polymer domains of the second self-assembled block copolymer, to form an array of openings extending the length of the trench;
removing portions of the substrate exposed through the array of openings to form openings in the substrate; and
forming a material distinct from the substrate in the openings in the substrate.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein forming a material distinct from the substrate in the openings in the substrate comprises filling the openings in the substrate with at least one of metal or conductive alloy to form contacts to at least one of an underlying active area or a conductive line in the substrate.
20. The method of claim 18 , wherein forming a material distinct from the substrate in the openings in the substrate comprises filling the openings in the substrate with a metal-insulator-metal-stack.
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2007
- 2007-04-20 US US11/738,169 patent/US8372295B2/en active Active
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2008
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Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20170178896A1 (en) * | 2015-12-18 | 2017-06-22 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Pattern forming method |
US10018915B2 (en) * | 2015-12-18 | 2018-07-10 | Toshiba Memory Corporation | Pattern forming method |
Also Published As
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TW200906709A (en) | 2009-02-16 |
TWI351382B (en) | 2011-11-01 |
KR20100017210A (en) | 2010-02-16 |
US9142420B2 (en) | 2015-09-22 |
US20120225243A1 (en) | 2012-09-06 |
EP2146925A1 (en) | 2010-01-27 |
KR101166619B1 (en) | 2012-07-18 |
WO2008130847A1 (en) | 2008-10-30 |
US8372295B2 (en) | 2013-02-12 |
US20080286659A1 (en) | 2008-11-20 |
EP2146925B1 (en) | 2013-05-22 |
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