	US 12,332,574 B2
	Lithographic patterning method and system therefore
Diederik Jan Maas, Breda (NL); Jacques Cor Johan Van Der Donck, Alphen aan Den Rijn (NL); Maarten Hubertus Van Es, Voorschoten (NL); Chien-Ching Wu, Delfgauw (NL); Klara Maturova, Pijnacker (NL); and Robert Wilhelm Willekers, 's-Gravenhage (NL)
Assigned to Nederlandse Organisatie voor toegepast-natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek TNO, 's-Gravenhage (NL)
Appl. No. 17/311,942
Filed by Nederlandse Organisatie voor toegepast-natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek TNO, 's-Gravenhage (NL)
PCT Filed Dec. 13, 2019, PCT No. PCT/NL2019/050833 § 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 8, 2021, PCT Pub. No. WO2020/122724, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 18, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 18212663 (EP), filed on Dec. 14, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0057720 A1, Feb. 24, 2022
Int. Cl. G03F 7/00 (2006.01)

CPC G03F 7/70675 (2013.01) [G03F 7/70358 (2013.01); G03F 7/70525 (2013.01); G03F 7/7065 (2013.01)]

20 Claims

1. A lithographic patterning method for creating features on a substrate surface, the lithographic patterning method being performed on a lithographic patterning system, wherein the lithographic patterning system comprises a lithography server, an applicator, an exposure unit, a developer unit and a scanning probe microscopy device, and wherein the method comprising:

providing, by the applicator, a resist material layer by applying a resist material to the substrate surface;

performing, by the lithographic patterning system, resist processing operations on the resist material layer, including at least:

selectively exposing, by the exposure unit, dependent on a location and based on patterning data, the resist material layer to a surface treatment step, so as to provide exposed locations and non-exposed locations, wherein the resist material in the exposed locations is chemically modified during the step of selective exposing; and

developing, by the developer unit, the resist material layer so as to selectively remove the resist material locally, dependent on whether a location is an exposed location or a non-exposed location;

wherein the method further comprises obtaining by the lithography server, during or after one or more of the resist processing operations, data indicative of a chemical modification of the resist material for monitoring or evaluating the one or more resist processing operations, the data being obtained by a detecting operation;

wherein the detecting operation is performed by scanning at least a part of the surface using a scanning probe microscopy device including a probe comprising a cantilever and a probe tip arranged thereupon,

wherein the scanning includes following the surface with the probe tip in a probing area,

wherein the probing area coincides with at least one location of the exposed locations and non-exposed locations, for locally detecting the chemical modification;

wherein operating the lithographic patterning system is controlled by the lithography server, and

wherein the method further comprises modifying, by the lithography server based on the locally detected chemical modifications, one or more operational parameters of at least one of the resist processing operations, for controlling the resist processing operations during operation of the method.

11. A system for performing a lithographic patterning method for creating features on a surface of a substrate, wherein the system comprises:

a lithography server, the lithography server being configured for at least one of controlling the lithographic patterning method and for acquiring data for monitoring or evaluating one or more resist processing operations of the lithographic patterning method;

an applicator for applying a resist material to a surface of a substrate for providing a resist material layer;

an exposure unit configured to selectively expose, dependent on a location and based on patterning data, the resist material layer to a surface treatment operation, so as to provide exposed locations and non-exposed locations, wherein the resist material in the exposed locations is chemically modified during the selective exposing; and

a developer unit for developing the resist material layer such as to selectively remove the resist material locally, dependent on whether a location is an exposed location or a non-exposed location;

wherein the lithography server is configured for obtaining, during or after one or more of the resist processing operations, data indicative of a chemical modification of the resist material for monitoring or evaluating the one or more resist processing operations,

wherein the lithography server cooperates with a scanning probe microscopy device for detecting the chemical modification and providing the data, wherein the scanning probe microscopy device is configured for scanning at least a part of the surface, wherein the scanning probe microscopy device includes a probe comprising a cantilever and a probe tip arranged on the cantilever, wherein the scanning probe microscopy device is configured for following the surface with the probe tip in a probing area, wherein the probing area coincides with at least one location of the exposed locations and non-exposed locations, for locally detecting the chemical modification;

wherein the lithography server is configured for performing, based on the locally detected chemical modifications, an operation of modifying one or more operational parameters of at least one of the applicator, the exposure unit, or the developer unit, for modifying a resist processing operation during operation of the method via the applicator, the exposure unit, or the developer unit.