Combinatorial resist processing studies

A new processing tool, the Thermal Gradient Plate (TGP) is described. The TGP allows for a range of temperatures to be expressed on a wafer or other substrate in a controlled and reproducible manner. Materials coated on a substrate can be baked across a range of temperatures, allowing multiple experiments to be run in parallel. Combining orthogonal TGP bakes creates a matrix of temperature pairs on a single wafer, allowing two bake step processes to be studied in a single experimental run. Experimental results demonstrating a variety of resist studies are described, including resist CD temperature dependence, underlayer cure temperature determination, and two bake step interactions.