Positive resist pattern formation through focused ion beam exposure and surface barrier silylation

摘要

A resist exposed to a micron or sub-micron pattern of highly absorbed ion beams forms a highly crosslinked barrier layer in the exposed regions of the resist surface. The complementary surface regions are silylated in a silicon-containing reagent, and the exposed regions are then removed by a plasma etch. Pattern definition is enhanced by limiting the exposure and the silylation to the surface of the resist. The process allows feature definition below 1000 Angstroms using a relatively inexpensive single element low energy ion source.