Directed self-assembly (DSA) of block copolymers is one of the most promising solutions investigated to obtain small and dense patterns for the sub-10 nm nodes. One of the most important aspects of the DSA technology is the orientation control of the block copolymer, which is determined by surface properties and different guiding techniques. Regarding the Arkema-CEA (ACE) chemoepitaxy process, one of the critical parameters is the preservation of the neutral layer’s properties during hydrofluoric acid wet etching, especially regarding its adherence to the titanium nitride (TiN) hard mask. In this paper, the different etching steps involved in the ACE integration flow are evaluated. Their effects on the surface properties of the TiN hard mask and on the adherence of the neutral layer are investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurements. Finally, the results obtained are used to optimize the different etching steps, thus demonstrating the chemoepitaxy of a polystyrene-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) block copolymer with 32 nm pitch without alignment defects on a 100 μm² surface.

中文翻译：

---

等离子刻蚀对化学外延定向自组装影响的研究

嵌段共聚物的直接自组装（DSA）是研究的最有前途的解决方案之一，用于获得亚10纳米节点的小而致密的图案。DSA技术最重要的方面之一是嵌段共聚物的取向控制，这取决于表面性能和不同的引导技术。关于阿科玛-CEA（ACE）的化学外延工艺，关键参数之一是在氢氟酸湿法蚀刻过程中保持中性层的性能，特别是关于其对氮化钛（TiN）硬掩模的粘附性。在本文中，评估了ACE集成流程中涉及的不同蚀刻步骤。通过X射线光电子能谱和接触角测量研究了它们对TiN硬掩模的表面性能和中性层粘附的影响。最后，将获得的结果用于优化不同的蚀刻步骤，从而证明了聚苯乙烯的化学外延作用。b -聚（甲基丙烯酸甲酯）嵌段与32纳米的间距而对一个100取向缺陷共聚物 μ中号²的表面。