2300^® Motif™ — Pattern Enhancement

Lithography limitations at the 32 nm technology node and beyond are driving the use of non-lithographic solutions to enable continued scaling. Based on Lam Research’s industry-leading plasma etch technologies, the 2300 Motif post-lithography pattern enhancement system enables cost-effective production of next-generation feature sizes using current lithography technology. Using a proprietary plasma-assisted process, the system reduces the original printed critical dimension (CD) of a feature by as much as 50 nm for holes and 100 nm for trenches and delivers well-controlled final CDs as small as 10 nm. These feature sizes are significantly smaller than those possible with today’s advanced lithography. In addition, the film deposited by the Motif system enhances plasma etch resistance, resulting in reduced line roughening and distortion during pattern shrinking and transfer. The Motif technology can also be used for double patterning with CD shrink to enable both feature size and pitch scaling, as well as for removable spacers that simplify otherwise costly and complicated processes.