Scalable Hard-mask materials with Improved Etch resistance and Low Degradation for Extreme-aspect-Ratio fabrication (SHIELDER)

Develop and demonstrate novel nanofabrication hard-mask materials that exhibit substantially improved plasma etch resistance, enabling the implementation of extreme high-aspect-ratio structures with excellent pattern-transfer fidelity, minimal sidewall roughness, and precise dimensional control. Proposed solutions should overcome the fundamental limitations of conventional lithography masks in a scalable fabrication environment by creating next-generation technologies capable of delivering high-resolution nanoscale features encountered across semiconductor, photonic, MEMS, and quantum device platforms.

The full objective, description, Phase I, II and III requirements and evaluation criteria are in the official topic on DSIP.