[labnetwork] HSQ Alternatives

[Chang, Long]

Thanks everyone. Great discussion as always.

Long

On May 10, 2021, at 11:33 AM, Wirth, Justin C <jcwirth at purdue.edu<mailto:jcwirth at purdue.edu>> wrote:

Hi Long,

For an XR-1541 alternative, we’ve used 2% and 6% HSiQ from DisChem and it’s been great. I was referred to them by AQM as the US distributor of a pre-mixed version of their powdered HSQ, and the added cost is for DisChem to do the preparation is so low, and the turn around is so quick, that we saw no reason to try to use the powder ourselves. As Andy mentioned, it’s shipped very quickly and available in smaller quantities. The quality was great and we saw no issues that made us miss XR-1541. And aside from a minute difference in solvent composition, HSiQ is chemically identical to XR-1541, and it IS hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ).

Medusa 82 is another chemical entirely, a carbon containing silsesquioxane (that AllResist hasn’t specified) dissolved in PGME. I suspect it’s maybe methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ) because a methyl group is the smallest organic R group, and because it fits the product name? But that’s just an idle guess, I’m not a chemist. I suspect that the carbon presence is what causes the adhesion issues (Medusa is more polar than HSQ) and drastically worse O2 etch resistance (although supposedly at bakes >=300 C the carbon will bake out via pyrolysis, and I’m not sure anyone has tried this). Since it’s an entirely different thing, it really needs like a master’s thesis to try and figure out how to use it well and what it can be good at, but it’s definitely not a drop in replacement for HSQ.

The only downside for Dischem’s HSiQ is that, since it’s using the powder as the precursor, the price scales with concentration. This isn’t a problem for smaller quantities around the 2%-6% range, but it gets much more expensive for thick HSQ (e.g. FOX-16) and is less cost competitive vs large volumes from Dow especially as concentration increases. So for sites that can stand the 14 week lead time, ordering higher concentrations + self-diluting in MIBK, and storing in LN2, XR-1541 is probably the better way to go. But for super quick HSQ orders of smaller volumes of typically thin resist, DisChem’s HSiQ is the way to go.

Thanks,
Justin

Justin C. Wirth, PhD
Research Engineer – EBL Processes & Nanofab Process Consultation
Birck Nanotechnology Center | Room 2287A
765.494.8203 | jcwirth at purdue.edu<mailto:jcwirth at purdue.edu>
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From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu>> On Behalf Of DisChem
Sent: Thursday, May 6, 2021 5:53 PM
To: Gerald Lopez <lopezg at seas.upenn.edu<mailto:lopezg at seas.upenn.edu>>
Cc: labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: [labnetwork] HSQ Alternatives

Hello Long,

Our product HSiQ is made to order as ready to use solutions in quantities as little as 20 ml and ships within a week with 100% shelf life.

Andy
DisChem, Inc.


On May 6, 2021, at 4:42 PM, Gerald Lopez <lopezg at seas.upenn.edu<mailto:lopezg at seas.upenn.edu>> wrote:

You should look into DisChem. MAEBL has worked with them in developing a viable HSQ alternative that is pretty much made to order and in smaller quantities. They ship out of PA.https://discheminc.com/<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://discheminc.com/__;!!LkSTlj0I!RPB3psdh8MUSsrnxVkDaTefL1lpGV87jQAzh81yA9CEo076QXFIN_vwCfg5Pbd2qSAUw$>

On Thu, May 6, 2021, 16:16 Chang, Long <lvchang at central.uh.edu<mailto:lvchang at central.uh.edu>> wrote:
Hi All,

I’m looking for HSQ alternatives since it’s expensive, has a 14 week lead time and comes in 250mL bottle. We waste most of the bottle due to it’s 6 months shelf life. Although we had some bottles still good after 2 years at 5C, it’s just a huge gamble after a year. We tried LN2 freezing, but it takes too much effort.

I’ve attached a table of the cost per mL for the alternatives I found assuming you want 100nm thick. The AQM and EMResist are in powder form and advertise 1 year powder shelf life and 3 months mixture shelf life. They can distribute the powder into many small bottles.

Particularly interesting is the Medusa 82 which has the lowest cost and advertises better shelf life. Does anyone have experience with these HSQ alternatives?



Thanks,
Long

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