[9a-P05-1~3] 13.1 Fundamental properties, surface and interface, and simulations of Si related materials

[9a-P05-3] Conditions for Damage-Free Drying of Pillar-Shaped Nanopatterns

Ivan Ganachev¹, 〇Yuto Yamamoto¹, Haruka Nakano¹ (1.Shibaura Mechatronics Corp.)

Keywords:

semiconductor

Drying is required after wet-process steps in the manufacturing of semiconductor nano devices. Damage by nanopattern sticking is a critical bottleneck in the process. In this contribution we consider a large array of vertical nano-pillars. Pillar sticking is caused by capillary force pulling the pillars towards each other. In non-deformed state each pillar is pulled by its neighbors in opposite directions, so that the total capillarity force is zero. Small pillar bending destroys the balance and results in small non-zero force, which may either restore the pillar to its upright state or bend it even further away and initiate instability. We derive the criterion for stability by requiring that small pillar deformation should lead to energy increase, causing the system to return to its initial lower-energy non-deformed state. The liquid surface area needed to compute the liquid surface energy is competed numerically from the requirement for a constant mean-curvature surface shape.