Antistatic developer as well as preparation method and application thereof

Abstract

The invention provides an antistatic developer as well as a preparation method and application thereof, and the preparation method comprises the following steps: adding an ionic liquid which is easily dissolved in an organic solvent into a negative developer, and stirring for a preset time length to obtain the antistatic developer. According to the antistatic developer and the preparation method and application thereof provided by the invention, the ionic liquid which is easily dissolved in the organic solvent is added into the negative developer, and the ionic liquid and the negative developer are uniformly mixed by stirring for the preset time, so that the antistatic developer with good conductivity is obtained; static charges generated when the antistatic developing agent flows in the pipeline can be conducted away by anions and cations in the ionic liquid in time, and therefore the defects and safety problems caused by the electrostatic interaction can be solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of developer preparation technology, and in particular to an antistatic developer, its preparation method and application. Background Technology

[0002] In the manufacturing process of integrated circuits, development is a crucial step. Development is the step in photolithography where the patterned photoresist is removed after exposure. The process typically involves spraying a developer solution onto the exposed wafer surface, dissolving the photoresist in the exposed areas while leaving the photoresist in the unexposed areas unchanged. Because the photoresist in the exposed areas is dissolved, the desired pattern is revealed.

[0003] Developer is a chemical solvent that dissolves the soluble areas of photoresist caused by exposure. For negative development processes, the developer is usually an organic solvent, such as xylene; for positive development processes, the developer is a strong alkaline solution diluted with water, and early versions were mixtures of potassium hydroxide and water. During the development process, the developer is typically delivered through a developer supply line.

[0004] However, in negative tone development (NTD) lithography, the main component of the developer used is a high-purity organic solvent (such as butyl acetate). When this developer flows at high speed through pipelines made of non-conductive materials such as PFA (perfluoroalkoxyethylene), static charge is easily generated due to friction. Since the insulating pipelines cannot effectively conduct this charge, it accumulates within the pipelines and cannot be released. This electrostatic effect not only causes defects at the center of the wafer, but also poses a risk of fire or explosion when replacing filters in the pipelines, seriously threatening production safety.

[0005] To reduce the impact of static electricity, one solution in related technologies is to cut off the middle section of the developer tubing and connect it to a stainless steel connector, replacing the original PFA connector with a conductive SUS stainless steel connector, and conducting the static charge through grounding. However, this method can only locally release the charge in the middle section of the tubing. For the area between the end of the tubing and the printhead, since the connection is still made of insulating material, static electricity cannot be effectively eliminated, and the problem of static electricity accumulation still exists, failing to fundamentally solve the safety hazard. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide an antistatic developer, its preparation method, and its application, in order to solve one or more of the problems existing in the prior art, such as the generation of charges by negative developer in the pipeline, leading to static electricity accumulation and causing defects at the center of the wafer, and affecting production safety.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: a method for preparing an antistatic developer, comprising:

[0008] An ionic liquid that is readily soluble in organic solvents is added to a negative developer and stirred for a preset time to obtain the antistatic developer.

[0009] Optionally, the negative developer includes butyl acetate.

[0010] Optionally, the ionic liquid includes an organic salt composed of organic cations and organic anions.

[0011] Optionally, the ionic liquid comprises trihexyltetradecylphosphine bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imine salt.

[0012] Optionally, the ionic liquid includes an organic salt composed of organic cations and inorganic anions.

[0013] Optionally, the ionic liquid comprises 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate.

[0014] Optionally, the preset duration can range from 5 minutes to 30 minutes.

[0015] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention also provides an antistatic developer, which is prepared by any of the above-described methods for preparing antistatic developers.

[0016] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention also provides an application of the antistatic developer as described in any of the preceding claims, wherein the antistatic developer is suitable for negative developing lithography.

[0017] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention also provides a developing solution comprising the antistatic developing agent described in any of the preceding claims.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the antistatic developer, its preparation method, and its application provided by the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0019] The present invention provides a method for preparing an antistatic developer, comprising: adding an ionic liquid readily soluble in organic solvents to a negative developer and stirring for a preset time to obtain the antistatic developer. Thus, the method for preparing an antistatic developer provided by the present invention, by adding an ionic liquid readily soluble in organic solvents to a negative developer and stirring for a preset time to ensure uniform mixing, yields an antistatic developer with good conductivity. Utilizing the ionic liquid readily soluble in organic solvents as a conductive medium allows the static charge generated when the antistatic developer flows in a pipeline to be promptly conducted away by the cations and anions in the ionic liquid, thereby solving the defects and safety problems caused by static electricity.

[0020] Since the antistatic developer and the developing solution provided by this invention belong to the same inventive concept as the preparation method of the antistatic developer provided by this invention, the antistatic developer and the developing solution provided by this invention have at least all the advantages of the preparation method of the antistatic developer provided by this invention. For the advantages of the antistatic developer and the developing solution provided by this invention, please refer to the relevant description of the beneficial effects of the preparation method of the antistatic developer provided by this invention, which will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall steps of a method for preparing an antistatic developer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The antistatic developer, its preparation method, and its application, proposed in this invention, will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. The advantages and features of this invention will become clearer from the following description. It should be noted that the drawings are all in a very simplified form and use non-precise proportions, only for the purpose of conveniently and clearly illustrating the embodiments of this invention. Please refer to the drawings to make the objectives, features, and advantages of this invention more apparent and understandable. It should be understood that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc., depicted in the accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of assisting those skilled in the art in understanding and reading the content disclosed in the specification, and are not intended to limit the implementation conditions of this invention. Any modifications to the structure, changes in proportions, or adjustments to the size, if they are the same as or similar to the effects and objectives achieved by this invention, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed in this invention. Specific design features of the invention disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, positions, and shapes, will be determined in part by the specific application and usage environment. Furthermore, in the embodiments described below, sometimes the same reference numerals are used together across different drawings to indicate the same parts or parts with the same function, and repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0023] Example 1

[0024] This embodiment provides a method for preparing an antistatic developer. For details, please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall steps of the preparation method of the antistatic developer provided in this embodiment. From... Figure 1 It can be seen that the preparation method includes:

[0025] S100: Add an ionic liquid that is easily soluble in organic solvent to the negative developer and stir for a preset time to obtain the antistatic developer.

[0026] Therefore, the method for preparing the antistatic developer provided in this embodiment involves adding an ionic liquid that is easily soluble in organic solvents to a negative developer and stirring for a preset time to ensure uniform mixing, thereby obtaining an antistatic developer with good conductivity. By using the ionic liquid that is easily soluble in organic solvents as a conductive medium, the static charge generated when the antistatic developer flows in the pipeline can be promptly conducted away by the anions and cations in the ionic liquid, thus solving the defects and safety problems caused by static electricity.

[0027] It should be noted that the negative developer mentioned in this invention refers to an organic solvent system suitable for negative photoresist development processes.

[0028] Preferably, in some embodiments, the main component of the negative developer is butyl acetate. Thus, by uniformly and stably distributing an ionic liquid readily soluble in organic solvents in butyl acetate, it is possible to impart conductivity to the antistatic developer while ensuring its developing effect, thereby fundamentally solving the static electricity problem.

[0029] It should be noted that the present invention does not impose too many restrictions on the type of ionic liquid, as long as it meets the condition of being easily soluble in organic solvents.

[0030] Exemplarily, in some embodiments, the ionic liquid can be an organic salt composed of an organic cation and an organic anion, such as trihexyltetradecylphosphine bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imine salt, in which the cation is trihexyltetradecylphosphineonium ion and the anion is bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imine ion. The molecular structure of trihexyltetradecylphosphine bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imine salt is as follows:

[0031] By way of example, in other embodiments, the ionic liquid may also be an organic salt composed of an organic cation and an inorganic anion, such as 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, in which the cation is 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ion and the anion is tetrafluoroborate ion. The molecular structure of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate is as follows:

[0032] It should be noted that the present invention does not impose excessive limitations on the range of the preset duration, as long as the negative developer and ionic liquid can be thoroughly mixed. For example, in some embodiments, the preset duration ranges from 5 minutes to 30 minutes.

[0033] Example 2

[0034] This embodiment provides an antistatic developer, which is prepared using the antistatic developer preparation method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0035] Since the antistatic developer provided in this embodiment and the preparation method of the antistatic developer provided in this embodiment belong to the same inventive concept, the antistatic developer provided in this embodiment has at least all the advantages of the preparation method of the antistatic developer provided in this embodiment. For the advantages of the antistatic developer provided in this embodiment, please refer to the relevant description of the beneficial effects of the preparation method of the antistatic developer provided in this embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0036] Example 3

[0037] This embodiment provides an application of the antistatic developer as described in any of the above embodiments, which is suitable for the field of negative developing lithography. Therefore, by applying the antistatic developer provided by this invention to the field of negative developing lithography, the defects and safety problems caused by static electricity in the negative developer delivery pipeline can be solved.

[0038] Example 4

[0039] This embodiment provides a developer solution, including the antistatic developer described in any of the above embodiments.

[0040] It should be noted that, as those skilled in the art will understand, the developing solution also includes surfactants and stabilizers.

[0041] Since the developing solution provided in this embodiment and the method for preparing the antistatic developing agent provided in this embodiment belong to the same inventive concept, the developing solution provided in this embodiment has at least all the advantages of the method for preparing the antistatic developing agent provided in this embodiment. For the advantages of the developing solution provided in this embodiment, please refer to the relevant description of the beneficial effects of the method for preparing the antistatic developing agent provided in this embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0042] In summary, the antistatic developer, its preparation method, and its application provided by this invention have the following advantages: The preparation method of the antistatic developer provided by this invention includes: adding an ionic liquid readily soluble in organic solvents to a negative developer and stirring for a preset time to obtain the antistatic developer. Therefore, the preparation method of the antistatic developer provided by this invention, by adding an ionic liquid readily soluble in organic solvents to a negative developer and stirring for a preset time to ensure uniform mixing, yields an antistatic developer with good conductivity. Utilizing the ionic liquid readily soluble in organic solvents as a conductive medium allows the static charge generated when the antistatic developer flows in the pipeline to be promptly conducted away by the cations and anions in the ionic liquid, thereby solving the defects and safety problems caused by static electricity.

[0043] Since the antistatic developer and the developing solution provided by this invention belong to the same inventive concept as the preparation method of the antistatic developer provided by this invention, the antistatic developer and the developing solution provided by this invention have at least all the advantages of the preparation method of the antistatic developer provided by this invention. For the advantages of the antistatic developer and the developing solution provided by this invention, please refer to the relevant description of the beneficial effects of the preparation method of the antistatic developer provided by this invention, which will not be repeated here.

[0044] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can be made to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for producing an antistatic developer, characterized by, The application relates to an antistatic developer for negative development. The antistatic developer is prepared by adding an ion liquid which is soluble in an organic solvent into a negative developer and stirring for a preset time.

2. The production method of the anti-static developer according to claim 1, wherein The negative developer comprises butyl acetate.

3. The production method of an anti-static developer according to claim 1, wherein The ion liquid comprises an organic salt composed of an organic cation and an organic anion.

4. The production method of an anti-static developer according to claim 3, wherein The ion liquid comprises a trishexyltetradecylphosphonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide salt.

5. The production method of the anti-static developer according to claim 1, wherein The ion liquid comprises an organic salt composed of an organic cation and an inorganic anion.

6. The production method of an anti-static developer according to claim 5, wherein The ion liquid comprises 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate.

7. The production method of the anti-static developer according to claim 1, wherein The preset time ranges from 5 minutes to 30 minutes.

8. An antistatic developer, characterized by, The antistatic developer is prepared by the preparation method of any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. Use of the antistatic developer according to claim 8, characterized in that, The antistatic developer is suitable for the field of negative development photolithography.

10. A developer, characterized by comprising: The application further relates to the antistatic developer of claim 8.

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