Highly robust electron beam lithography lift-off process using chemically amplified positive tone resist and PEDOT:PSS as a protective coating

Highly sensitive chemically amplified resists are well suited for large-area, high-resolution rapid prototyping by electron beam lithography. The major drawback of these resists is their susceptibility to T-topping effects, sensitivity losses, and linewidth variations caused by delay times between individual process steps. Hence, they require a very tight process control, which hinders their potentially wide application in R&D. We demonstrate a highly robust electron beam lithography lift-off process using a chemically amplified positive tone 40XT photoresist in combination with an acidic conducting polymer (PEDOT:PSS) as a protective top-coating. Even extended delay times of 24 h did not lead to any sensitivity losses or linewidth variations. Moreover, an overall high performance with a resolution of 80 nm (after lift-off) and a high sensitivity (<10 mu C/cm(2)) comparable to other standard chemically amplified resists was achieved. The development characteristics of this resist-layer system revealed new insights into the immanent trade-off between resolution and process stability.