Analysis of resist pattern collapse by direct peeling method with atomic force microscope tip

Quantitative analysis of the adhesion property of a KrF resist pattern is d emonstrated experimentally. Dependency of the load for collapse on various line and L-shaped patterns, is investigated. By directly applying normal lo ad with a microcantilever tip, a photoresist pattern adhering on a substrat e can be collapsed easily. The adhesion strength of the L-shaped pattern is considerably large as compared with the line pattern. The reliability of t his method is discussed together with the analysis of stress distribution i n the KrF resist patterns.