Breakthrough in semiconductor patterning
Summary
The compound, which has been chemically engineered for reliable directed self-assembly (DSA), has demonstrated the ability to form perpendicular lamellar structures with a half-pitch width of less than 10 nanometres, surpassing the capabilities of conventional block copolymers. Under the leadership of Professor Teruaki Hayakawa, the research team developed a novel BCP tailored to create extremely small line patterns on a substrate in the form of lamellar domains – structures composed of fine, alternating layers. "Thin-film aligned lamellar domains with a vertical orientation could be reliably and reproducibly obtained via directed self-assembly, yielding parallel line patterns that correspond to a half-pitch size of 7.6 nm," noted Hayakawa. "PS-b-PGFM BCPs are promising templates for use in lithography because they can produce fine patterns in DSA processes similar to those used for conventional PS-b-PMMA, with the potential to outperform them," Hayakawa explained. These advancements could bring us closer to a new era in electronics and artificial intelligence systems, where the miniaturisation of components will play a pivotal role in enhancing performance and enabling new applications.