Kenichiro Sato

Structural design of new alicyclic acrylate polymers with androstane moiety for 193-nm resist

Synthesis of new alicyclic (meth)acrylate polymers containing androstane moieties, especially cholic acid derivatives, and their characteristics were investigated for 193nm single layer resists. Among the derivatives, a work of adhesion, Ohnishi and ring parameters were used as measures for the adhesion and the dry-etching resistance in this study. In the synthesis of the polymers, the use of 3- (beta) -methacryloyoxy-deoxycholic acid, which is the inverse configuration against the original 3-(alpha) -structure, was effective as a monomer, because the steric hindrance at 3- (alpha) -position degraded its polymerization ability. The polymers partially protected by acid labile groups showed a satisfactory adhesion, which was probably due to the hydrophilic hydroxyl group at the 12-position and the carboxyl group linked at the 17-position, and a good dry- etching resistance. On the lithographic imaging with these polymers, the reduction of the side reaction on the acid decomposition and also the control of the flexibility on the polymers largely affected their performance. THe adjustment of the Tg values of the polymers by the co-polymerization and the change of the polymer backbone from the methacrylate to acrylate structure performed well on imaging under 193nm exposure.

Novel transparent PAGs for 193-nm resists

Transparency of the resist film at exposure wavelength affects lithographic performances, such as sensitivity, profile and resolution. Not only binder polymer, but also photo acid generator (PAG) itself has a significant impact on transparency of the formulated resist. Triphenylsulfonium salt (TPS) or Diphenyliodonium salt (DPI) have been widely used as PAGs in DUV chemically amplified (CA) resists, however, aromatic groups there have strong absorption at 193nm and thereby these PAGs have to suffer from low transparency. In this paper, we will report a novel class of transparent enone sulfonium salt PAGs(ENS-PAG), which we believe useful for 193nm resist. The ENS-PAGs do not have any aromatic groups but have an α,β-unsaturated ketone structure for the absorbing moiety in the backbone. These PAGs showed excellent transparency, thermal stability, and demonstrated an advantage in the line edge roughness (LER).