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Content archived on 2024-05-27

ARRAYS OF MICROGUNS FOR PARALLEL E-BEAM NANOLITHOGRAPHY

Objective

The three years Nanolith project aims at demonstrating the feasibility of high throughput and high resolution (10 nm range) parallel e-beam lithography for mask making. Nanolith will demonstrate 100 nm-size resist features with a monolithic writing head integrated on a silicon wafer and consisting of a 33 x 33 matrix of electron microguns, independently driven by CMOS circuits, each microgun delivering a 10 pA current. A microgun is composed of an electron planar source, made-up in a low electron affinity carbon-based film with artificially engineered emission sites, an extracting lens and a focusing lens. Finally, microguns with sub 10 nm electron planar sources, delivering sub 30 nm beam sizes and suitable for integration in an active matrix-type writing head will be demonstrated. The three years Nanolith project aims at demonstrating the feasibility of high throughput and high resolution (10 nm range) parallel e-beam lithography for mask making. Nanolith will demonstrate 100 nm-size resist features with a monolithic writing head integrated on a silicon wafer and consisting of a 33 x 33 matrix of electron microguns, independently driven by CMOS circuits, each microgun delivering a 10 pA current. A microgun is composed of an electron planar source, made-up in a low electron affinity carbon-based film with artificially engineered emission sites, an extracting lens and a focusing lens. Finally, microguns with sub 10 nm electron planar sources, delivering sub 30 nm beam sizes and suitable for integration in an active matrix-type writing head will be demonstrated.

OBJECTIVES
The overall objective of the three years Nanolith project is to demonstrate that parallel e-beam Lithography using an array of electron microguns driven by an active matrix can comply with the future requirements of lithographic mask fabrication, that is a high resolution (10 nm range), high throughput (writing time < 30 min due to parallel writing) and low cost technology (the writing head is fully integrated on a single silicon wafer). Nanolith will demonstrate parallel 100 nm lithography with a matrix ff 30 x 30 microguns, each delivering 10 pA, and independently driven with integrated dose control circuits. Each microgun is composed of an electron planar source, made-up in a low electron affinity carbon-based film with artificially engineered emission tites, an extracting lens and a focusing lens. Moreover, microguns with sub 10 nm electron planar sources delivering sub 30 nm beam sizes and suitable for integration in an active matrix will be demonstrated.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK
During the project, we will study three critical aspects of the Nanolith concept: high throughput parallel writing with an array of microguns, 10 nm range resolution capability and 100% efficiency of the writing head with integrated circuits and dose control elements. One can note that this corresponds to the three following deliverables: the simulation and circuit design of the 100% efficient writing head concept, sub 30 nm size electron beams, 100 nm resist structures realised by exposure with an active array of microguns.

In order to reach these objectives, the work is divided into the following seven workpackages (WP): - Electron planar source (EPS) fabrication (WP1), - Fabrication and emission properties of planar cathodes (WP2), - Fabrication and emission properties of optimised microguns (WP3), - Parallel lithography with ~1000 microguns (WP4), - Assessment and evaluation (WP5), - Dissemination and Use Plan and Technological Implementation Plan (WP6), - Project management (WP7).

WP1, which corresponds to the EPS fabrication, is dedicated to the deposition of carbon material and to the artificial engineering of emission sites in order to determine the best EPS fabrication method. The goal of WP2 is to optimise the structure of planar cathodes using 10-100nm EPSs. It will lead to the complete study of the emission properties of the planar cathodes and to their fabrication yield. WP3 corresponds to the study of optimised microguns for parallel lithography and also for the determination of the ultimate resolution. WP4 is dedicated to parallel 100 nm lithography with an active matrix of microguns. This workpackage includes the lithographic environment requirements, active matrix design (100% efficient writing head concet) and fabrication and 100 nm parallel lithography. The goal of WP7 is to warrant a good and efficient progress of the project and to ensure a complete exploitation of the results.

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92200 Neuilly Sur Seine
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