AZ ECI 3027

! Cleanroom humidity warning !

Control of the relative humidity (RH) in photolithography zones is extremely critical. Stable and reproducible photolithography is expected within 38% to 48% RH range.

  • In case of low RH (< 38%), the resist sensitivity and development rate decreases. It is then recommended to increase the recommended exposure doses.
  • In case of high RH (> 48%), the resist adhesion decreases. It is then recommended to do an additional bake (>10 minutes @ 150°C) before loading the wafers in the HMDS or coating equipment.

Wafer surface preparation

Usually adhesion of photoresist on inorganic materials is poor resulting in losses of fine structures after development. To solve the issue, silicon wafers are generally treated using the HMDS vapor prime treatment before spincoating the photoresist. Details about the HMDS process and control can be found here: link

Assuming wafers with a clean surface free of organic contamination, the best adhesion will be obtained with the surface preparation recommended in the table:

Surface material (larger area) Vapor HMDS Plasma O2 Thermal dehydratation
Si √√
SiO2, fused silica, SiN, Si3N4 √√
Float glass, pyrex √√
Metals: Al, Au, Pt, Ti √√
Metals: Ag, Cu, Cr, Fe X √√
III/V semiconductors (GaN, GaAs) X √√

Legend: √√ Strongly recommended / √ Alternative process / … Not effective / X May affect or destroy underlaying material

Spincoating

The AZ ECI 3027 spincurve is shown below, as well as process details for both automatic and manual coating.

Available thicknesses: 2 um / 3 um / 4 um / 5 um

Available options:

First digits Coating option
01XX HMDS / EC (edge clean)
02XX Dehydrate / EC
03XX HMDS / EBR (edge bead removal)
04XX Dehydrate / EBR

Available thicknesses:

Last digits Spin speed [rpm] Softbake time [mm:ss] PR thickness [µm]
XX26 5800 03:00 2
XX27 2800 03:00 3
XX28 1600 03:00 4
XX29 1000 03:00 5

Spin time is adjusted with the rotation speed. Softbake is performed at minimum proximity. Softbake temperature is 100°C for all options.

  • Find the spin-coating speed “XXXX” [RPM] matching your target thickness from the AZ ECI 3027 spincurve.
  • When coating on wafers, use the STD_”XXXX” recipe, which includes a 500 RPM spreading step and 40 seconds of main coating step.
  • When coating on small chips, use the CHIP_”XXXX” recipe, which includes 40 seconds of main coating step and a short acceleration at the end to reduce edge bead effects.
  • Softbake temperature: 90°C
  • Softbake time: 30” + 30”/um

Exposure

The following table lists the recommend dose “to clear” for AZ ECI 3027 coated on silicon wafers. It is recommended to perform a contrast curve / exposure matrix calibration for wafers other than silicon.

Illumination:  Broadband* i-line (355-365 nm) h-line (405 nm)
Equipment:  MABA6, MA6 Gen3 (no filter) VPG 200, MA6 Gen3 (filter), MJB4  MLA 150
PR thickness [µm]  Dose [mJ/cm2]+  Dose [mJ/cm2]++  Dose [mJ/cm2]+++
2.3 200 210 Refer to Resist Tables
3 260 270
4 330 350
5 415 430

* Mercury Lamp, Mask Aligner with UV400 configuration & no filter / + Based on intensity readings from Süss optometer broadband CCD / ++ Based on intensity readings from Süss optometer i-line CCD / +++ Based on MLA150 internal dose measurements

Development

The recommended developer for AZ ECI 3027 is MF CD 26 (or AZ 726 MIF), an organic solution based upon TMAH.

IMPORTANT: AZ ECI 3027 is a chemically amplified resist and requires a post-exposure bake (PEB) before development. On automated development equipment, the PEB is included in the development sequences. For manual development, make sure to perform the PEB as indicated in the section below!

! Important! AZ ECI 3027 is a chemically amplified resist. A post-exposure bake (PEB) step is recommended in order to optimize the photoreaction. This PEB step is part of the standard development recipes on the ACS 200 system. PEB is performed at 110°C for a minimum of 90 seconds with minimum proximity gap.

Development sequences for AZ ECI 3027 on the ACS200 Gen 3 are listed below:

Recipe name

PR thickness [µm]

Total contact time [s]
D4_PEB_3027_2u_B
2
72
D4_PEB_3027_3u_B
3
108
D4_PEB_3027_4u_B
4
137
D4_PEB_3027_5u_B
5
162

The developement consists of an initial spray dispense followed by puddle method.

  • PEB temperature: 100°C
  • PEB time: 90”
  • Recommended developer: AZ 726 MIF (no dilution needed)
  • Development time: 20″-30″/um
  • Rinse: H2O 1min

IMPORTANT:
After development, it is mandatory for wafers to go through an additional rinsing step with DI water to avoid backside contamination and damage on equipments (chuck in etcher) in further processing steps. The water baths of the following wet benches can be used free of charge (5 min. billing delay after login):

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