Novel chemically amplified dry-developing imaging materials for high resolution microlithography

Several new polymers, copolymers, and polyfunctional crosslinkers that can be used to formulate chemically amplified resist materials have been prepared, characterized, and tested in combination with suitable photoactive compounds. All of the materials operate on the basis of acid catalyzed processes involving alkylation, dehydration, or isomerization reactions. Sensitivities below 0.1mJ/cm2 have been measured with deep-UV irradiation, while most of the materials also operate very effectively with E-beam or X-ray exposure. The resist materials are useful in dry development and top-surface imaging processes. Depending on the nature of the matrix polymer and the design of the resist material, both positive and negative tone images can be obtained. Dry development using an oxygen plasma can be achieved following selective silylation of the resists after exposure and post-baking. Those areas of the films that are silylated resist etching by the oxygen plasma providing access to high resolution images that also benefit from the high sensitivity of the chemically amplified resists. © 1992, The Society of Photopolymer Science and Technology(SPST). All rights reserved.