Molecular Weight and Polydispersity Effects on Electron Beam Lithography Performance of RAFT-Mediated PMMA
Abstract
The performance of electron beam lithography (EBL) is highly dependent on the resist material, and the behavior of main-chain scission (MCS) resists such as PMMA is strongly influenced by the molecular weight and polydispersity index (PDI). To systematically investigate these factors, a series of PMMA resists with precisely controlled molecular weight and PDI were synthesized via RAFT polymerization, and broad-distribution samples were obtained through blending. Results show that soft-bake temperature significantly affects pattern fidelity and line-edge roughness (LER), with PMMA-200 k exhibiting optimal performance at 140 °C soft-bake, achieving L/S patterns with line critical dimensions (CDs) of 25 nm and an LER of 2.24 nm. Low number-average molar mass ( M n ) PMMA (13 k, PDI
Fields of Study & Subjects
Advancements in Photolithography Techniques
Nanofabrication and Lithography Techniques
Conducting polymers and applications
Publication details
- Journal / source
- ACS Applied Polymer Materials
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 4560–4572
- Publication date
- 6 March 2026
- Language
- EN