Extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is enabling manufacturing ofintegrated circuits with critical dimensions of less than 20 nm for the latesttechnology nodes, but the high photon energy is imposing new challenges onphotoresist materials. Metal-oxide photoresists (MORs) are promising materialsthat have been driving the progress in EUV lithography since they offer higherresolution, absorption and etch-resistance compared to traditional polymericorganic photoresists. Typical MORs consist of a metallic or metal-oxide coreand organic substituents. Upon EUV exposure and baking of a MOR coated on a waferthe organic compounds leave the film, and it is commonly assumed that theactivated metal centers create covalent bonds between each other leading to across-linked metal-oxide network that is insoluble in organic developersolvents. However, only little experimental evidence about cross-linkednetworks and their properties has been reported in the literature, since nanoscalefilms only yield weak signals, for example in infrared spectroscopy, where thecharacteristic metal-oxygen stretching bands furthermore lie in a spectralregion that is difficult to detect. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure(EXAFS) is a spectroscopic technique, which can yield insights on thecoordination and interatomic distances of metal atoms and therefore help tobetter understand the exposure chemistry of MORs. The goal of thisinternship is to analyze, simulate, and interpret EXAFS data from a modelmetal-organic photoresists and link it to the EUV patterningperformance.

You will work on an extensive dataset of x-rayabsorption spectroscopy measurements on a photoresist covering different EUVdoses and process parameters, such as baking steps, recorded recently at theEuropean Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble. Your task will beto pre-process the spectra, extract the EXAFS signal, transformit into real space, build and fit a structural model, and finally interpretthe structure. Here you will mainly use established open-source tools andcodes, such as Athena and Artemis for the pre-processing and fitting, or FEFFfor the simulations, but you might also modify and tailor the tools to yourspecific problem. Your findings are complementing experiments on thesame photoresist system performed by imec researchers, and together you willthen advance the state-of-the-art on the fundamental understanding ofMOR exposure chemistry. This will contribute eventually to the developmentof better photoresists by imec's suppliers and achieve better performances ofphotoresists for future technology nodes in chip manufacturing.

Who you are:

Motivatedstudent with a passion for data analysis and modeling of spectroscopic data
In-progressMasters's degree in chemistry, physics, material science, nanoscience (orcomparable)
Solidbackground on spectroscopic techniques, affinity to theoretical simulations
Proficiencyin data analysis and coding (Python, Matlab, etc.) is highly valued
Goodwritten and verbal English skills

Type ofwork:
30% data analysis, 60%modeling, 10% literature

Type of internship: Master internship

Duration: 3-6 months

Required educational background: Chemistry/Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, Physics

Supervising scientist(s): For further information or for application, please contact Fabian Holzmeier (< email deleted for security reasons >)

The reference code for this position is 2026-INT-295. Mention this reference code in your application.

Applications should include the following information: