Product category: Electronics Manufacturing Machinery and Materials
News Release from: SDK | Subject: Espacer 300F
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 14 April 2005

Charge dissipating agent
boosts e-beam accuracy

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Espacer 300F is a new grade of charge dissipating agent claimed to substantially enhance the efficiency of electron-beam lithography processes in the production of integrated circuits

Charge dissipating agents are used in the EB lithography process to ensure pattern accuracy by preventing positional errors due to electrostatic charge. As further integration of ICs will require semiconductor processing at narrower line widths, there is a growing need for highly efficient charge dissipating agent.

SDK developed a highly conductive, water-soluble polymer (polyisothianaphthenesulphonate) based on guidance from Professor Alan J Heeger of the University of California, Santa Barbara, for about 10 years from 1983.

(Professor Heeger was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000 for his discovery and development of a conductive polymer).

Since 1992, SDK has been selling Espacer, containing the high purity conductive polymer as a charge dissipation agent.

Espacer is stable at high temperatures for EB lithography processes and can readily be removed with water washing after the resist bake process.

In addition, the new grade, Espacer 300F, has a number of new advantages.

There is no erosion of positive-tone chemical amplified resist - a problem with existing charge dissipating agents.

The new grade enables efficient coating on resist, and also substantially simplifies the process as it can be removed by water washing after the post exposure bake process (not after the resist bake process).

These advantages have been demonstrated at production lines of a major photomask manufacturer.

According to a report from the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, the line width for semiconductor processing, which was 90nm or less in 2004, is expected to become 65nm or less in 2007.

Espacer will meet that need by effectively preventing positional errors.

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