SnOx high-efficiency EUV interference lithography gratings towards the ultimate resolution in photolithography

We investigate a molecular Sn-oxide based negative tone resist featuring high absorbance at EUV wavelengths for the simple and direct fabrication of highly efficient diffraction gratings necessary for single-digit nm resolution patterning with EUV interference lithography (EUV-IL). In here we show for the first time, dense line space patterning by electron beam lithography down to 9 nm HP resolution using the novel Sn-oxide based resist. We furthermore show patterning of dense line-space structures down to 7 nm half-pitch resolution by the use of highly efficient SnOx gratings and EUV-IL Furthermore, our simulation results show the feasibility of patterning high-resolution nanostructures down to 5 nm half-pitch with optical lithography. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.