Synergistic Enhancement Effects of Heterogeneous Isomorphism Clusters in Response to Irradiation: Sub-10 nm Nanolithography and Nanoscale Etching Transfer

The advancement of integrated circuit manufacturing has continuously relied on lithography technology as a fundamental driving force. However, the development of photoresists faces a resolution-line edge roughness-sensitivity (RLS) trade-off, hindering simultaneous optimization. To address this issue, we propose a collaborative strategy for heterogeneous isomorphism cluster photoresists with different radiation responses. The <b>Ti</b>_<b>4</b><b>M</b>_<b>4</b>-oxo cluster platform [Ti₄Zr₄O₆(OBu)₄(OMc)₁₆] (<b>T4Z4</b>), with higher sensitivity, was applied as a photosensitizer for a higher resolution photoresist of [Ti₄Hf₄O₆(OBu)₄(OMc)₁₆] (<b>T4H4</b>), allowing the hybrid photoresist to effectively induce cluster cross-linking at low exposure doses, synergistically producing high-resolution patterns. This achieved an e-beam resolution enhancement from 16 to 7.5 nm, with successful fabrication of intricate patterns under 10 nm. The hybrid photoresist also exhibits the capability to etch transfer patterns below 20 nm onto silicon dioxide substrates, highlighting its potential for future device manufacturing. This work presents a new perspective on photoresist design to effectively tackle RLS trade-off limitations.