Patent ID: 8125618

Claim:
A system for exposing a resist layer with regions of photosensitivity to an image in a lithographic process using a high numerical aperture imaging tool comprising: a substrate having thereover 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 having 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; wherein the imaging tool has a numerical aperture value of at least 0.95 and is adapted to project radiation containing an aerial image onto the resist layer, the radiation including transverse magnetic waves, with a portion of the radiation containing the aerial image passing through the resist layer and reflecting 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, and wherein the thickness and location of the resist layer region of photosensitivity with respect to the reflective layer are 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.