Patent ID: 7470504

Claim:
A method of exposing a resist layer with regions of photosensitivity to an image in a lithographic process using a high numerical aperture imaging tool comprising: providing an imaging tool having a high numerical aperture of at least 0.95 for projecting radiation forming an aerial image; providing a substrate having a layer reflective to the imaging tool radiation, a spacer layer comprising an organic copolymer over the reflective layer, the spacer layer having a thickness of at least 60 nm and a refractive index of about 1.7, and a resist layer with a region of photosensitivity over the spacer layer, the resist layer having a thickness of about 15 to 30 nm and including an inorganic moiety selected from the group consisting of silicon, iron, hafnium and titanium, and combinations thereof; projecting radiation containing an aerial image from the imaging tool onto the resist layer, the radiation including transverse magnetic waves, a portion of the radiation containing the aerial image passing through the resist layer; and reflecting a portion of the radiation containing the aerial image that passes through the resist layer off the reflective layer back to the resist layer, the reflective layer being reflective to the transverse magnetic waves, the reflected radiation forming an interference pattern in the resist layer of the projected aerial image through the resist layer thickness, wherein the location of the resist layer region of photosensitivity with respect to the reflective layer is selected to include from within the interference pattern a single higher contrast region of the interference pattern created by the transverse magnetic waves in the direction of the resist thickness, and to exclude lower contrast portions of the transverse magnetic wave interference pattern in the resist thickness direction from said resist layer region of photosensitivity, to improve contrast of the aerial image in said resist layer region of photosensitivity.