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Chemical Origins of Environmental Modifications to MOR Lithographic Chemistry

Researchers at imec presented new findings on metal‑oxide resists (MORs) for EUV lithography, showing that atmospheric oxygen, not CO₂ or humidity, drives post‑exposure chemical changes. Using the BEFORCE platform, they demonstrated that O₂ induces carbonyl formation and accelerates ligand loss during post‑exposure bake, but only after EUV exposure creates reactive sites. Kinetic analysis revealed a first‑order O₂‑MOR reaction with an activation energy around 58 kJ mol⁻¹, leading to up to a 30% reduction in dose‑to‑gel. These insights suggest that controlled O₂ environments could improve MOR sensitivity without sacrificing resolution.