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A vacuum-integrated metal oxide-containing hardmask formation process and related vacuum-integrated hardware that combine steps of film formation by vapor deposition and optical lithography results in direct photopatterning of metal oxide-containing hardmasks at substantially reduced cost relative t

A vacuum-integrated metal oxide-containing hardmask formation process and related vacuum-integrated hardware that combine steps of film formation by vapor deposition and optical lithography results in direct photopatterning of metal oxide-containing hardmasks at substantially reduced cost relative to current approaches.

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1. A method of forming a metal oxide-containing hardmask, comprising: depositing on a semiconductor substrate by a vapor-based deposition process a EUV-sensitive metalorganic oxide film, wherein the depositing comprises reaction of an organotin oxide precursor with carbon monoxide or dioxide in a RF

1. A method of forming a metal oxide-containing hardmask, comprising: depositing on a semiconductor substrate by a vapor-based deposition process a EUV-sensitive metalorganic oxide film, wherein the depositing comprises reaction of an organotin oxide precursor with carbon monoxide or dioxide in a RF plasma;exposing a portion of the metalorganic oxide film to EUV to form a pattern in the metalorganic oxide film;developing the pattern in the metalorganic oxide film to remove one of the exposed or an unexposed portion of the metalorganic oxide film to form the metal oxide-containing hardmask. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the deposition is conducted by PECVD or PEALD. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the exposed portion of the metalorganic oxide film is removed. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the unexposed portion of the metalorganic oxide film is removed. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the depositing comprises organotin oxide deposition precursors selected from the group consisting of halo alkyl Sn, alkoxy alkyl Sn and amido alkyl Sn. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the deposition precursors are selected from the group consisting of trimethyl tin chloride, dimethyletin dichloride, methyltin trichloride, tris(dimethylamino)methyl tin(IV) and (dimethylamino)trimethyl tin(IV). 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the depositing comprises reaction of the organotin oxide with carbon dioxide in a RF plasma. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the deposited organotin oxide film comprises CH3Sn(SnO)3 formed by CVD of Sn(Cl)3CH3 with carbon dioxide in a RF plasma. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the EUV exposure causes a dimerization reaction in the exposed portion of the deposited organotin oxide film. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the deposited organotin oxide film comprises CH3Sn(SnO)3 and the dimerization upon EUV exposure produces Sn2((SnO)3)2). 11. The method of claim 10, wherein, in the development, the Sn2((SnO)3)2 exposed portion is removed. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the Sn2((SnO)3)2 exposed portion is removed by ethanol and water in the development. 13. The method of claim 10, wherein, in the development, the unexposed portion of the deposited organotin oxide film is removed and the Sn2((SnO)3)2 exposed portion remains. 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the exposing provides patterning of the metal oxide-containing film directly by EUV exposure in a vacuum ambient, without the use of photoresist, followed by developing to form the metal oxide-containing hardmask. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor substrate is a silicon wafer including partially-formed integrated circuits, and further comprising: prior to the deposition, providing the semiconductor substrate in a first reactor chamber for metal oxide-containing film deposition; andfollowing deposition, transferring the substrate under vacuum to a lithography processing chamber for patterning. 16. An apparatus for conducting metal oxide-containing hardmask formation, the apparatus comprising: a metalorganic oxide film vapor-based deposition module;a metalorganic oxide film patterning module;a vacuum transfer module connecting the deposition module and the patterning module; anda controller including instructions for conducting metal oxide-containing hardmask formation, the instructions comprising code for:in the metal oxide-containing film vapor-based deposition module, depositing on a semiconductor substrate by a vapor-based deposition process a EUV-sensitive metalorganic oxide film, wherein the depositing comprises reaction of an organotin oxide precursor with carbon monoxide or dioxide in a RF plasma;transferring the substrate under vacuum to the metal oxide-containing film patterning module;in the metal oxide-containing film patterning module, patterning the metalorganic oxide film directly by EUV exposure in a vacuum ambient to form a pattern; anddeveloping the pattern to form the metal oxide-containing hardmask. 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein: the deposition module comprises reactor chamber for vapor-depositing a photosensitive organotin oxide film; andthe patterning module comprises a photolithography tool with a source of sub-30 nm wavelength radiation. 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the deposition module is a PECVD tool. 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the patterning module is a EUV lithography tool. 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the instructions further comprise code for transferring the substrate outside the EUV lithography tool to conduct the pattern development.