Improvement of a block co-polymer (PS-b-PMMA)-masked silicon etch profile using a neutral beam.

Bottom-up block copolymer (BCP) lithography mediated by self-assembly of polystyrene (PS)/poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) is widely used as an alternative patterning method for various deep nanoscale devices, such as optical devices and transistors, replacing conventional top-down photolithography. However, the nanoscale BCP mask features formed on the substrates after direct self-assembly of BCP tend to be easily damaged during exposure to the following plasma processing. In this study, silicon masked with a nanoscale BCP mask (PS) was etched by irradiating with a Cl2/Ar neutral beam in addition to a Cl2/Ar ion beam, and the effect of a Cl2/Ar neutral beam instead of a Cl2/Ar ion beam on damage to the PS mask and the silicon etch characteristics of nanodevices was investigated.