This award will support collaborative research between Dr. Michael N. Kozicki, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Arizona State University and Professor Alan Owen, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. The goal of the research is to study inorganic resist materials for all-vacuum lithography. Integrated circuit fabrication is still widely carried out by transporting the substrates between individual pieces of equipment in a "cleanroom" environment. Since it is impossible to control fully the contaminant content of the air, there is ample opportunity for particulates or vapors to impinge on the materials being processed, thereby altering device characteristics and reducing product yield. A complete fabrication process carried out under vacuum compatible conditions would result in a significant reduction in substrate contamination. Many process steps may already be carried out under vacuum, but lithography, a process which uses organic materials with volatile components, is not compatible with this concept. This is currently a barrier to the realization of all-vacuum processing. The objective of this program is to investigate the As-S/Ag inorganic resist system with a view to applying it to all vacuum-processing. This will be done in conjunction with the University of Edinburgh, which has considerable experience with the As-S chalcogenides and is currently performing research on the optimization of the As-S/Ag system for applications in microlithography. The cooperative program will involve fundamental materials science and physical chemistry research being done at Edinburgh, with an investigation of all-vacuum applications and the development of a full lithographical process being carried out at Arizona State University. Results of this research may have a significant impact on the development of silicon and compound semiconductor device fabrication technology.
