Estimation of resist profile for line/space patterns using layer-based exposure modeling in electron-beam lithography

One of the essential tasks in the dose control for fabrication of 2-D and 3-D patterns using electron-beam lithography is estimation of remaining resist profiles after development. A conventional approach is to compute the exposure distribution for a target pattern through convolution with the point spread function (PSF) and then obtain the resist profile via simulation of the development process based on the exposure distribution. A new approach which does not require calculation of the exposure distribution and simulation of the resist development is proposed. It utilizes a set of experimental results on which estimation of the resist profile is based, and has a good potential to provide an alternative to the conventional approaches. In this paper, the proposed approach is described in detail along with the results obtained from an extensive simulation and also experiments. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.