INVESTIGATION OF PHOTORESIST-SPECIFIC OPTICAL PROXIMITY EFFECT

Optical proximity effects arising from individual resist characteristi cs are investigated. The parameters studied are those used in photores ist exposure and development simulation using the SOLID and Prolith/2 programs. The optical proximity effect is found to be independent of t he exposure parameters but greatly affected by the development process and is shown to be a function of the Mack parameter, n, which is rela ted to the resist contrast, gamma. Finally, in order to put this effec t into perspective with other resist selection criteria, the developme nt parameter, n, is also shown to be related to wall angle and depth-o f-focus (DOF).