Richard Van Court Carr

Novel reactions of quadricyclane: a new route to monomers for low-absorbing polymers in 157-nm photoresists

Norbornene monomers with fluorinated substituents are often used in copolymers targeted for photoresist applications at 157 nm. Homopolymers of these norbornene monomers typically exhibit an absorption coefficient greater than 1.5 μm-1. Comonomers, which are often perfluoroolefins, are needed to meet the transparency requirement for 157 nm lithography, namely an absorption coefficient less than 1.0 μm-1. Clearly, a norbornene monomer that gives a homopolymer with an optical density less than 1.0 μm-1 would require less, if any, perfluoroolefin comonomer, providing a distinct advantage in the production of the base resin. Research in Air Products and Chemicals’ labs has led to the discovery that fluorinated hydroxyalkyl ether derivatives of norbornene ring systems with suitable substitution patterns can give homopolymers with absorption coefficients of less than 1 μm-1. The monomers are produced via a novel reaction pathway involving quadricyclane. This pathway provides a versatile and rich synthetic chemistry, and the potential for eliminating, or at least substantially decreasing, perfluoroolefin incorporation into 157 nm photoresists. Specific examples of these reactions are discussed here, along with VUV-VASE and etch resistance data for a series of polymers derived from quadricyclane reactions.