Patterning ∼20 nm half-pitch lines on silicon using a self-assembled organosilicate etch mask

Lines of ∼20 nm half-pitch were generated on silicon surface using a self-assembled organosilicate nanostructure. A mixture of a poly(styrene-b- ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) with an organosilicate precursor that is selectively miscible with PEO was used to create lamellar phase whose orientation was controlled perpendicular to the surface by tuning the surface energy of substrates. Thermal cross-linking of the organosilicate precursor followed by thermal decomposition of the PS-b-PEO leaves a robust organosilicate line pattern of sublithographic length scales on the surface. Line patterns on silicon substrate were created by transferring this self-assembled pattern into the underlying silicon substrate using anisotropic plasma etching. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.