Synthesis of silicon-containing materials for UV-curable imprint etch barrier solutions

Silicon-containing acrylate and vinyl-ether derivatives, i.e., bis-(acryloxyethyloxy)-dimethylsilane, bis-(acryloxyethyloxy)-bis- (trimethylsilylmethyl)-silane, and bis-(vinyloxyethyloxy)- dimethylsilane, were synthesized. These materials, together with Irgacure 184 as a radical photoinitiator, were used as components for UV-curable imprint etch barrier (IEB) solutions. The effects of each material on the imprint properties of the IEB solution, such as viscosity and dry-etching resistance, were evaluated. The etch resistance of cured IEB films against oxygen plasma increased with the amount of silicon in the synthesized material. The vinyl-ether derivative had a much lower viscosity than the acrylate derivative. Formulations based on the three synthesized materials were made to find the optimum composition among them in terms of the required properties for the nanoimprinting and the following processes. The optimized formulation was applied to the nanoimprinting and subsequent lift-off process to define nanoscale features of eight chrome (Cr) metal lines with 65 nm linewidth at 250 nm pitch.