Integrating Molecular Transfer Lithography with Electron Beam Lithography for Low-Volume Sub-32 nm CMOS Processing

With a novel patterning process called Molecular Transfer Lithography, enabled by a water-dissolvable template, providing better control of surface engineering objectives in lithography, an integrated strategy is proposed for coordination of that nanopatterning technique with Electron Beam Lithography, targeting low-volume applications in CMOS sub-32 nm processing, as well as other relevant applications in nanoscale manufacturing. Through a decomposition of the circuit design layout into regular pattern set, which is handled by the water-dissolvable template process thereby improving throughput while lowering costs, and the remaining portions by Electron Beam Lithography to achieve alignment requirements while reducing mastering costs. As the template process p has already demonstrated the requisite resolution of 25 nm and smaller, performed on wafers to 300 mm diameters, with production yielding commercial optoelectronic devices, the first phase of this program, in addition to integration of the two lithographic technologies, involves the development of the materials processing methods to achieve a template replication and transfer processes that are configurable for automated volume manufacturing, as well as algorithmic methods of throughput optimization and layout decomposition.