Peter Trefonas Explained

Peter Trefonas
Birth Place:Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Nationality:American
Field:Lithography
Work Institutions:Dow Chemical
Alma Mater:University of New Orleans, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Doctoral Advisor:Robert West
Awards:ACS Heroes of Chemistry 2014, Perkin Medal 2016

Peter Trefonas (born 1958) is a retired DuPont Fellow (a senior scientist) at DuPont, where he had worked on the development of electronic materials. He is known for innovations in the chemistry of photolithography, particularly the development of anti-reflective coatings and polymer photoresists that are used to create circuitry for computer chips. This work has supported the patterning of smaller features during the lithographic process, increasing miniaturization and microprocessor speed.[1]

Education

Peter Trefonas is a son of Louis Marco Trefonas, also a chemist, and Gail Thames.[2] He was inspired by Star Trek and the writings of Isaac Asimov, and created his own chemistry lab at home.Trefonas attended the University of New Orleans, receiving his Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 1980.

While an undergraduate, Trefonas earned money by writing video games for early personal computers. These included Worm, a clone of the 1976 arcade video game Blockade, and a clone of the arcade game Hustle (1977), which itself was based on Blockcade. Worm was the first of what would become many games in the snake video game genre for home computers.[3] Trefonas also wrote a game based on Dungeons & Dragons.[4]

Trefonas studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Robert West, completing a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry in late 1984. Trefonas became interested in electronic materials after working with West and chip makers from IBM to create organosilicon bilayer photoresists. His thesis topic was "Synthesis, properties and chemistry of organosilane and organogermane high polymers" (1985).[5]

Career

Trefonas joined MEMC Electronic Materials in late 1984. In 1986, he and others co-founded Aspect Systems Inc., utilizing photolithography technology acquired from MEMC. Trefonas worked at Aspect from 1986-1989. Then, through a succession of company acquisitions, he moved to Shipley Company (1990-2000), Rohm and Haas (1997-2008), to The Dow Chemical Company (2008-2019), and finally to DuPont (2019-current).[6] [7] [8] [9]

Trefonas has published at least 132 journal articles and technical publications. He has received 107 American patents, and has more than 15 active patent applications pending.

Research

Throughout his career, Trefonas has focused on materials science and the chemistry of photolithography. By understanding the chemistry of photoresists used in lithography, he has been able to develop anti-reflective coatings and polymer photoresists that support finely-tuned etching used in the production of integrated circuits. These materials and techniques make it possible to fit more circuits into a given area.[1] Over time, lithographic technologies have developed to allow lithography to use smaller wavelengths of light. Trefonas has helped to overcome a number of apparent limits to the sizes that are achievable, developing photoresists that are responsive to 436-nm and 365-nm ultraviolet light, and as small as 193 nm deep.[10]

In 1989, Trefonas and others at Aspect Systems Inc. reported on extensive studies of polyfunctional photosensitive groups in positive photoresists. They studied diazonaphthoquinone (DNQ), a chemical compound used for dissolution inhibition of novolak resin in photomask creation. They mathematically modeled effects, predicted possible optimizations, and experimentally verified their predictions. They found that chemically bonding together three of the molecules of DNQ to create a new molecule containing three dissolution inhibitors in a single molecule, led to a better feature contrast, with better resolution and miniaturization.[11] These modified DNQs became known as "polyfunctional photoactive components" (PACs). This approach, which they termed polyphotolysis,[12] [13] [14] has also been referred to as the "Trefonas Effect."[15] [16] The technology of trifunctional diazonaphthoquinone PACs has become the industry standard in positive photoresists.[16] Their mechanism has been elucidated and relates to a cooperative behavior of each of the three DNQ units in the new trifunctional dissolution inhibitor molecule. Phenolic strings from the acceptor groups of PACs that are severed from their anchors may reconnect to living strings, replacing two shorter polarized strings with one longer polarized string.[17]

Trefonas has also been a leader in the development of fast etch organic Bottom Antireflective Coating (BARC) BARC technology minimizes the reflection of light from the substrate when imaging the photoresist. Light that is used to form the latent image in the photoresist film can reflect back from the substrate and compromise feature contrast and profile shape. Controlling interference from reflected light results in the formation of a sharper pattern with less variability and a larger process window.[18]

In 2014, Trefonas and others at Dow were named Heroes of Chemistry by the American Chemical Society, for the development of Fast Etch Organic Bottom Antireflective Coatings (BARCs). In 2016, Trefonas was recognized with The SCI Perkin Medal for outstanding contributions to industrial chemistry. In 2018, Trefonas was named as a Fellow of the SPIE for "achievements in design for manufacturing & compact modeling." Peter Trefonas was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2018 for the "invention of photoresist materials and microlithography methods underpinning multiple generations of microelectronics". DuPont Company in 2019 recognized Trefonas with its top recognition, the Lavoisier Medal, for "commercialized electronic chemicals which enabled customers to manufacture integrated circuits with higher density and faster speeds".

Awards and honors

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Perkin Medal. SCI. 12 April 2017.
  2. Web site: Dr. Louis Marco Trefonas. Orlando Sentinel. 20 April 2017.
  3. Web site: Retro Corner: 'Snake'. Digital Spy. 12 April 2017. 2011-04-09.
  4. Web site: CLOAD Magazine. Gametronik. May 1980.
  5. Book: Trefonas. Peter. Synthesis, properties and chemistry of organosilane and organogermane high polymers. 11 April 2017. [publisher not identified]. 1985.
  6. Web site: Alumni: Peter Trefonas. University of New Orleans. 12 April 2017.
  7. News: Rocha. Euan. Daily. Matt. Dow Chemical to buy Rohm and Haas for $15.3 bln. 12 April 2017. Reuters. July 10, 2008.
  8. News: Campoy. Ana. Dow Chemical Closes Rohm & Haas Deal. 20 April 2017. The Wall Street Journal. April 2, 2009.
  9. Reisch. Marc S.. C&EN talks with Peter Trefonas, photolithography innovator. Chemical & Engineering News. September 12, 2016. 94. 36. 27–28. "Note Correction, published in October: 'Sept. 12, page 27: A feature story profiling Dow Chemical's Peter Trefonas incorrectly identified when Dow acquired Rohm and Haas. The acquisition occurred in 2009, not 2001.'".
  10. Trefonas III. Peter. Blacksmith. Robert F.. Szmanda. Charles R.. Kavanagh. Robert J.. Adams. Timothy G.. Organic antireflective coatings for 193-nm lithography. Proc. SPIE 3678, Advances in Resist Technology and Processing. June 11, 1999. XVI. 702. 702. 10.1117/12.350257. Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XVI. 1999SPIE.3678..702T . 138376696 .
  11. US. 5128230 A. . Quinone diazide containing photoresist composition utilizing mixed solvent of ethyl lactate, anisole and amyl acetate. July 7, 1992. . . . Michael K. Templeton . Anthony Zampini. Peter Trefonas III. James C. Woodbrey, David C. Madoux, Brian K. Daniels. Shipley Company Inc.. .
  12. Book: Levy. R. A.. Microelectronic materials and processes : [proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Microelectronic Materials and Processes, Il Ciocco, Castelvecchio Pascoli, Italy, June 30-July 11, 1986]]. 1989. Kluwer Academic. Dordrecht. 9780792301479. 333–334. 12 April 2017.
  13. Book: Suzuki. Kazuaki. Smith. Bruce W.. Microlithography science and technology. 2007. CRC Press. Boca Raton. 9780824790240. 130. 2nd. 13 April 2017.
  14. Trefonas III. P.. Daniels. B. K.. New Principle for Image Enhancement in Single Layer Positive Photoresists. SPIE Advances in Resist Technology and Processing. August 25, 1987. IV. 771. 194–210. 10.1117/12.940326 . 1987SPIE..771..194T . 96668019 .
  15. Web site: Peter Trefonas, 2016 Perkin Medal Recipient, Credits Chemistry for Enabling the Information Age. DOW Electronic Materials. September 26, 2016.
  16. Han. Yu-Kai. Yan. Zhenglin. Reiser. Arnost. Mechanism of the Trefonas Effect (Polyphotolysis) in Novolak−Diazonaphthoquinone Resists. Macromolecules. December 1999. 32. 25. 8421–8426. 10.1021/ma990686j. 1999MaMol..32.8421H .
  17. Book: Han. Yu-Kai. Reiser. Arnost. Mechanism of the Trefonas effect (Polyphotolysis) in dissolution inhibition resists . Will . Conley . Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XVI. SPIE Proceedings: Advances in Resist Technology and Processing XVI. June 11, 1999. 3678. 360. 10.1117/12.350219. http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/proceeding.aspx?articleid=983915. 30 May 2017. 1999SPIE.3678..360H . 95748950 .
  18. News: Cameron. Jim. Litho University: DBARC Technology 101. 30 May 2017. Dow Electronic Materials. November 18, 2015.
  19. Web site: National Academy of Engineering Elects 83 Members and 16 Foreign Members. NAE Website. 2018-02-17.
  20. Web site: 2017 SPIE Fellows. spie.org. 2018-02-17.
  21. News: SCI Awards Perkin Medal To Dow's Peter Trefonas By Chemical Processing Staff. 12 April 2017. Chemical Processing. May 10, 2016.
  22. Web site: SCI Perkin Medal. Science History Institute. 24 March 2018. 2016-05-31.
  23. Web site: 2014 Heroes of Chemistry. ACS Chemistry for Life. 12 April 2017.
  24. SPIE. Peter Trefonas: Chemistry is key player in lithography process. SPIE Newsroom. 22 August 2016. 10.1117/2.201608.02.
  25. Web site: Dow Electronic Materials and Texas A&M University Win SPIE's 2013 Willson Award for Best Technical Paper. Dow Electronic Materials News. March 20, 2014.
  26. Trefonas. Peter. Thackeray. James W.. Sun. Guorong. Cho. Sangho. Clark. Corrie. Verkhoturov. Stanislav V.. Eller. Michael J.. Li. Ang. Pavia-Sanders. Adriana. Schweikert. Emile A.. Wooley. Karen L.. Bottom-up/top-down, high-resolution, high-throughput lithography using vertically assembled block bottle brush polymers. Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS. 16 December 2013. 12. 4. 043006. 10.1117/1.JMM.12.4.043006. 2013JMM&M..12d3006T . 123535313 . 12 April 2017.