Molecular Resist Materials and Silicone Fluids for High Resolution Lithographic Imaging

초록

In this paper, we demonstrate the processing of photoresist thin films in environmentally-friendly silicone fluids. The linear methyl siloxanes are a class of mild solvents that are low in toxicity and non-ozone depleting. In addition, linear methyl siloxanes possess low surface tension which can advantageously prevent pattern collapse problems in developing high aspect-ratio resist images. With small molecule-based resist materials, it is shown that high-resolution patterning images down to 30 nm could be achieved by selectively dissolving resist thin films in that silicone solvents through radiation-triggered chemical reactions.