Electron Beam Lithography Simulation for the Patterning of Extreme Ultraviolet Masks

Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) mask is a complex multilayer stack, fabricated with electron-beam lithography. Detailed understanding of the scattering events and energy loss mechanism of the electron beam within this stack is mandatory due to the high accuracy requirements of the fabrication process. Simulation of electron-beam lithography is performed incorporating the details of the mask material-stack and the metrological information of the final layout is quantified. The effect of the Mo–Si multilayer of the EUVL mask blank on the deposited energy in the resist film is investigated. Simulation of complex layout containing features of various sizes down to 100 nm reproduced experimental metrology trends on the fine features of the layout.