Progress in directed self-assembly hole shrink applications

Directed Self-Assembly (DSA) has become a promising alternative for generating fine lithographic patterns. Since contact holes are among the most difficult structures to resolve through traditional lithographic means, directed self-assembly applications that generate smaller contact holes are of particular interest to the industry. In this paper, DSA integrations that shrink pre-patterned contact holes were explored. The use of both block copolymers (BCPs)(1) and blended polymer systems(2) was considered. In addition, both wet(3) and dry(4) techniques were used to develop the central core out of the respective phase-separated morphologies. Finally, the hole patterns created through the various contact hole applications were transferred to substrates of interest with the goal of incorporating them into an IMEC 28 nm node via chain electrical test vehicle for direct, side-by-side comparison.