Directed self-assembly materials for high resolution beyond PS-b-PMMA

To extend directed self-assembly (DSA) of poly(styrene-b-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) for higher resolution, placement accuracy and potentially improved pattern line edge roughness (LER), we have developed a next-generation material platform of organic high-χ block copolymers (“HC series”, AZEMBLYTM EXP PME-3000 series). The new material platform has a built-in orientation control mechanism which enables block copolymer domains to vertically selforient without topcoat/additive or delicate solvent vapor annealing. Furthermore, sub-10 nm lines and spaces (L/S) patterning by two major chemoepitaxy DSA, LiNe and SMARTTM processes, was successfully implemented on 12” wafer substrates by using the PME-3000 lamellar series. The results revealed that the new material platform is compatible with the existing PS-b-PMMA-based chemical prepatterns and standard protocols. We also introduced the built-in orientation control strategy to the conventional PS-b-PMMA system, producing a new generation of PS-b-PMMA materials with facile orientation control. The modified PS-b-PMMA (m-PS-b-PMMA) performed LiNe flow DSA yielding a comparable CD process window with improved LER/LWR/SWR after the L/S patterns were transferred into a Si substrate.