Photocurable compositions containing non-reactive polymers

Abstract

The photocurable composition may comprise a polymerizable material, at least one non-reactive polymer, and a photoinitiator, the non-reactive polymer may have a carbon content of at least 80% based on the total weight of the non-reactive polymer, the molecular weight of the at least one non-reactive polymer may be at least 750 g / mol and not more than 20,000 g / mol, the amount of the non-reactive polymer may be at least 10 wt% and not more than 30 wt%, and the viscosity of the photocurable composition may be not more than 110 mPa·s. The photocurable composition has low linear shrinkage, high carbon content, and high etch resistance after curing, making it suitable for IAP or NIL processes.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to photocurable compositions, and in particular to photocurable compositions for inkjet adaptive planarization suitable for forming photocured layers having high carbon content, low thermal shrinkage, and high thermal stability. [Background technology]

[0002] Inkjet adaptive planarization (IAP) is a process of planarizing the surface of a substrate, such as a wafer containing electrical circuitry, by jetting droplets of a photocurable composition onto the surface of the substrate and directly contacting the added liquid with a planar superstrate to form a planar liquid layer. The planar liquid layer is typically solidified under UV light exposure, and after removal of the superstrate, a planar polymer surface is obtained that can be subjected to subsequent process steps, such as baking, etching, and / or further deposition steps.

[0003] There is a need for improved IAP materials that provide a planar photocurable layer with high etch resistance, high thermal stability, and low shrinkage during subsequent processing. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] In one embodiment, the photocurable composition can comprise a polymerizable material, at least one non-reactive polymer, and a photoinitiator, the non-reactive polymer can have a carbon content of at least 80% based on the total weight of the non-reactive polymer, the molecular weight of the at least one non-reactive polymer can be at least 750 g / mol and not more than 20,000 g / mol, the amount of the non-reactive polymer can be at least 10 wt% and not more than 30 wt%, and the viscosity of the photocurable composition can be not more than 110 mPa·s.

[0005] In one aspect, the photocurable composition is adapted such that after photocuring, the photocurable composition has a linear shrinkage of 6 percent or less. In a particular aspect, the linear shrinkage may be 5 percent or less.

[0006] In another aspect, the viscosity of the photocurable composition can be 50 mPa·s or less.

[0007] In a further aspect, the carbon content of the non-reactive polymer can be at least 85 percent.

[0008] In one embodiment, the non-reactive polymer may be soluble in the polymerizable material.

[0009] In yet another embodiment of the photocurable composition, the molecular weight of the non-reactive polymer can be at least 750 g / mol and no more than 10,000 g / mol, hi certain embodiments, the molecular weight can be at least 2,000 g / mol and no more than 8,000 g / mol.

[0010] In certain aspects of the photocurable composition, the amount of the non-reactive polymer may be up to 25% by weight, based on the total weight of the photocurable composition.

[0011] In one aspect of the photocurable composition, the non-reactive polymer can be selected from polystyrene, polyphenylene oxide, or dicyclopentadiene phenolic resin.

[0012] In another aspect of the photocurable composition, the amount of the polymerizable material can be at least 50% by weight, based on the total weight of the photocurable composition.

[0013] In a further aspect, the polymerizable material of the photocurable composition can comprise at least one polymerizable monomer, the at least one polymerizable monomer having a boiling point of at least 250°C.

[0014] In yet another aspect, the polymerizable material of the photocurable composition can include at least one multifunctional acrylate monomer, at least one multifunctional vinyl monomer, or a combination thereof.

[0015] In certain aspects of the photocurable composition, the polymerizable material can include at least one monofunctional acrylate monomer and at least one multifunctional acrylate monomer.

[0016] In one embodiment, the photocurable composition can be adapted for nanoimprint lithography (NIL) or inkjet adaptive planarization (IAP).

[0017] In another embodiment of the photocurable composition, the total carbon content of the photocured layer formed from the photocurable composition may have a carbon content of at least 70%.

[0018] In further embodiments, the thermal decomposition temperature of the photocurable composition after photocuring can be at least 300°C.

[0019] In one embodiment, a method of forming a photocurable layer on a substrate may include applying a layer of a photocurable composition on the substrate, the photocurable composition comprising a polymerizable material, a non-reactive polymer, and a photoinitiator, the non-reactive polymer having a carbon content of at least 80% by weight based on a total weight of polymer, a molecular weight of at least one non-reactive polymer being at least 750 g / mol and no more than 20,000 g / mol, an amount of the non-reactive polymer being at least 10% by weight and no more than 30% by weight, and a viscosity of the photocurable composition being no more than 110 mPa s; contacting the photocurable composition with a template or superstrate; irradiating the photocurable composition with light to form a photocurable layer; and removing the template or superstrate from the photocurable layer.

[0020] In one aspect, the photocurable composition after photocuring may have a linear heat shrinkage of 6 percent or less.

[0021] In a further embodiment, a method of making an article can include applying a layer of a photocurable composition onto a substrate, the photocurable composition comprising a polymerizable material, a non-reactive polymer, and a photoinitiator, the non-reactive polymer having a carbon content of at least 80 wt.% based on a total weight of polymer, a molecular weight of at least one non-reactive polymer being at least 750 g / mol and no more than 20,000 g / mol, an amount of the non-reactive polymer being at least 10 wt.% and no more than 30 wt.%, and a viscosity of the photocurable composition being no more than 110 mPa s; contacting the photocurable composition with a template or superstrate; irradiating the photocurable composition with light to form a photocurable layer; removing the template or superstrate from the photocurable layer; forming a pattern on the substrate; treating the substrate with the pattern formed in forming; and producing an article from the substrate treated in treating. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0022] Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the accompanying figures. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 includes a graph illustrating the decrease in linear shrinkage with increasing amounts of non-reactive polymer, according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 includes a graph showing TGA curves of materials of photocurable layers made from compositions S1 and S2, each formed with a non-reactive polymer in an amount of 10% by weight, according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] The following description is provided to aid in understanding the teachings disclosed herein and focuses on specific implementations and embodiments of the teachings. This focus is provided to aid in explaining the teachings and should not be construed as limiting the scope or applicability of the teachings.

[0024] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The materials, methods, and examples are merely illustrative and are not intended to be limiting. Unless described herein, many details regarding specific materials and processing acts are conventional and can be found in imprint and lithography technology textbooks and other sources.

[0025] As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "including," "including," "has," "having," or any variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of features is not necessarily limited to only those features and may include other features that are not expressly listed or that are inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

[0026] As used herein, "or" refers to an inclusive or, not an exclusive or, unless expressly stated to the contrary. For example, condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or exists) and B is false (or does not exist), A is false (or does not exist) and B is true (or exists), or both A and B are true (or exist).

[0027] Additionally, the use of "a" or "an" is used to describe elements and components described herein. This is used merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the scope of the invention. This description should be interpreted as including one or at least one, and the singular also includes the plural, unless it is clear that no plural is intended.

[0028] The present disclosure relates to a photocurable composition comprising a polymerizable material, at least one non-reactive polymer, and a photoinitiator, wherein the non-reactive polymer can have a carbon content of at least 80%, the molecular weight of the at least one non-reactive polymer can be at least 750 g / mol and not more than 20,000 g / mol, and the amount of the non-reactive polymer can be at least 10% by weight and not more than 30% by weight.

[0029] Surprisingly, it has been observed that photocurable compositions comprising specific combinations of a polymerizable material and at least one non-reactive polymer can enable the formation of photocured layers having low thermal shrinkage.

[0030] Without being bound by theory, it is believed that the non-reactive polymer can be carried out during polymerization of the polymerizable material within the formed pores of the polymer matrix, preventing the collapse of the pores, thereby avoiding shrinkage. The appropriate balance of the type and amount of the non-reactive polymer and the type and amount of the polymerizable monomer can facilitate the formation of a resist material highly suitable for NIL or IAP processes, with low viscosity, high carbon content, low Ohnish number, high thermal stability and high etch resistance.

[0031] As used herein, the term "non-reactive" polymer refers to a polymer that does not chemically react with the functional groups of the polymerizable monomers of the polymerizable material. For example, in one aspect, the non-reactive polymer does not contain functional groups that can react with the acrylate or vinyl groups of the polymerizable monomers.

[0032] As used herein, the linear shrinkage (SL) is calculated by the following formula (1): SL=(L R -L CR / L R )×100% (1) Here, L R is the thickness of the photocurable composition layer before curing, and L CR is the thickness of the cured photocurable composition layer.

[0033] In certain embodiments, the linear shrinkage of the photocurable composition can be 6% or less, such as 5.5% or less, 5.0% or less, 4.5% or less, 4.0% or less, 3.5% or less, or 3.0% or less.

[0034] The non-reactive polymer can be selected by the criteria that it has a high carbon content, is soluble in the polymerizable material, has a particular molecular weight range, and contributes only marginally to increasing the viscosity of the photocurable composition.

[0035] A high carbon content of the non-reactive polymer is desirable because it contributes to a high final carbon content of the photocured layer formed from the photocurable composition. In one aspect, the carbon content of the non-reactive polymer can be at least 80%, for example, at least 82%, at least 84%, at least 86%, at least 88%, at least 90%, or at least 92%, based on the total weight of the non-reactive polymer. The carbon content of the non-reactive polymer can be calculated as a weight percent of carbon atoms based on the molecular weight of the smallest repeating unit of the non-reactive polymer.

[0036] Non-limiting examples of non-reactive polymers can include polystyrene, poly(phenylene oxide), dicyclopentadiene phenolic resin, poly(p-phenylene), poly(vinyl biphenyl), poly(vinylanthracene), poly(vinyl cyclohexane), poly(1-vinyl damantane), or poly(ether ketone) (PEEK).

[0037] In certain aspects, the molecular weight of the non-reactive polymer can be at least 750 g / mol, at least 800 g / mol, at least 1,000 g / mol, at least 2,000 g / mol, or at least 5,000 g / mol. In other aspects, the molecular weight of the non-reactive polymer can be 50,000 g / mol or less, 20,000 g / mol or less, 15,000 g / mol or less, 10,000 g / mol or less, 8,000 g / mol or less, or 6,000 g / mol or less.

[0038] In further aspects, the amount of non-reactive polymer can be at least 5 wt%, e.g., at least 10 wt%, at least 15 wt%, or at least 20 wt%, based on the total weight of the photocurable composition. In other aspects, the amount of non-reactive polymer can be no more than 30 wt%, no more than 25 wt%, or no more than 20 wt%, based on the total weight of the photocurable composition.

[0039] The photocurable composition can be designed to have a low viscosity before curing. In one embodiment, the viscosity of the curable composition can be 110 mPa·s or less, 100 mPa·s or less, 80 mPa·s or less, 50 mPa·s or less, 40 mPa·s or less, 35 mPa·s or less, 30 mPa·s or less, 25 mPa·s or less, 20 mPa·s or less, or 15 mPa·s. In other particular embodiments, the viscosity can be at least 5 mPa·s, such as at least 10 mPa·s, or at least 15 mPa·s. In certain preferred aspects, the photocurable composition can have a viscosity of 10 mPa·s to 50 mPa·s or less. As used herein, all viscosity values ​​refer to viscosities measured at a temperature of 23° C. by the Brookfield method using a Brookfield viscometer.

[0040] The polymerizable material can include a monofunctional monomer, a multifunctional monomer, or a combination thereof. In certain aspects, the polymerizable material can include at least one multifunctional acrylate monomer, at least one multifunctional vinyl monomer, or a combination of a multifunctional acrylate monomer and a multifunctional vinyl monomer.

[0041] In certain aspects, the multifunctional acrylate monomer of the polymerizable material can be a difunctional acrylate monomer, a trifunctional acrylate monomer, a tetrafunctional acrylate monomer, or any combination thereof. Non-limiting examples of multifunctional acrylate monomers can include bisphenol A dimethacrylate, m-xylylene diacrylate, neopentyl glycol diacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, tetramethylolmethane tetraacrylate, or any combination thereof.

[0042] In another particular aspect, the multifunctional vinyl monomer can be divinylbenzene.

[0043] In further particular aspects, the polymerizable material can include at least one monofunctional acrylate monomer and at least one multifunctional acrylate monomer. As used herein, the term "acrylate monomer" refers to both unsubstituted acrylates and alkyl-substituted acrylates, such as methacrylates.

[0044] In another aspect, the amount of multifunctional monomer can be at least 10%, at least 15%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 50%, or at least 80% by weight based on the total weight of the polymerizable material. In another aspect, the amount of multifunctional monomer can be 100%, up to 95%, up to 90%, up to 70%, or up to 50% by weight of the polymerizable material based on the total weight of the polymerizable material.

[0045] In a further aspect, the weight percent ratio of monofunctional monomer to multifunctional monomer can be from 1:5 to 5:1, such as from 1:3 to 3:1, or from 1:1 to 3:1.

[0046] The amount of polymerizable material in the photocurable composition can be at least 30% by weight, e.g., at least 40% by weight, at least 50% by weight, at least 60% by weight, at least 70% by weight, or at least 80% by weight, based on the total weight of the photocurable composition. In another aspect, the amount of polymerizable compound can be 90% by weight or less, e.g., 85% by weight or less, 80% by weight or less, 70% by weight or less, or 60% by weight or less. The amount of polymerizable compound can be a value between the minimum and maximum values ​​listed above. In a particular aspect, the amount of polymerizable material can be at least 50% by weight and 85% by weight or less.

[0047] The photocurable composition can be adapted so that the photocured layer formed therefrom has high thermal stability. In one aspect, the onset temperature of thermal degradation of the photocurable layer can be greater than 250°C, greater than 300°C, greater than 350°C, greater than 375°C, or greater than 400°C. As used herein, the onset temperature of thermal degradation, also referred to as "thermal degradation temperature", refers to the temperature of the TGA curve at which the deviation of the curve from a linear plateau is first observed, immediately prior to the rapid degradation of the sample.

[0048] In one embodiment, the photocurable composition of the present disclosure may be substantially solvent-free. As used herein, unless otherwise indicated, the term solvent refers to a compound that can dissolve or disperse polymerizable monomers but does not itself polymerize during photocuring of the photocurable composition. The term "substantially solvent-free" as used herein means an amount of solvent that is 5% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the photocurable composition. In certain aspects, the amount of solvent can be 3% by weight or less, 2% by weight or less, or 1% by weight or less, or the photocurable composition is solvent-free except for unavoidable impurities.

[0049] In other specific aspects, the photocurable composition can include a solvent in an amount of at least 6 wt%, at least 8 wt%, at least 10 wt%, at least 15 wt%, or at least 20 wt%, based on the total weight of the photocurable composition. In other aspects, the amount of solvent can be 30 wt% or less, 20 wt% or less, or 15 wt% or less.

[0050] One or more photoinitiators can be included in the photocurable composition to initiate photocuring of the composition upon exposure to light, hi certain aspects, curing can also be accomplished by a combination of light and thermal curing.

[0051] The photocurable composition may further contain one or more optional additives. Non-limiting examples of the optional additives may be stabilizers, dispersants, solvents, surfactants, inhibitors, or any combination thereof.

[0052] The photocurable compositions of the present disclosure can be adapted for use in inkjet adaptive planarization (IAP) or nanoimprint lithography (NIL).

[0053] In one embodiment, the photocurable composition is coated onto a substrate to form a photocurable layer. As used herein, the combination of the substrate and the photocurable layer overlying the substrate is referred to as a laminate.

[0054] The inclusion of at least one first monomer in the polymerizable material can contribute to a high carbon content in the formed photocured layer. In one embodiment, the photocurable composition can be adapted so that the carbon content of the photocured layer is at least 70%, at least 71%, at least 72%, at least 73%, at least 74%, or at least 75%.

[0055] In another aspect, the photocurable layer of the laminate can have an Ohnishi Number of 3.2 or less, 3.0 or less, 2.9 or less, 2.8 or less, 2.7 or less, or 2.6 or less. In another aspect, the Ohnishi Number can be at least 1.8, e.g., at least 1.9, at least 2.0, at least 2.1, at least 2.2, or at least 2.3.

[0056] In certain embodiments, the photocurable layer can have a carbon content of at least 70% and an Ohnishi number of 2.9 or less.

[0057] The present disclosure further relates to a method of forming a photocurable layer, which may include applying a layer of the photocurable composition described above onto a substrate, contacting the photocurable composition with a template or superstrate, irradiating the photocurable composition with light to form the photocurable layer, and removing the template or superstrate from the photocurable layer.

[0058] The substrate and solidified layer may be subjected to additional processes, such as an etching process, to transfer an image to the substrate that corresponds to the pattern of one or both of the solidified layer and / or the patterned layer underlying the solidified layer. The substrate may be further subjected to known steps and processes for the manufacture of devices (articles), including, for example, curing, oxidation, layering, deposition, doping, planarization, etching, removal of moldable material, dicing, bonding, and packaging.

[0059] The photocurable layer may further be used as an interlayer insulating film for semiconductor elements such as LSI, system LSI, DRAM, SDRAM, RDRAM, or D-RDRAM, or as a resist film used in the semiconductor manufacturing process.

[0060] Working Example The following non-limiting examples illustrate the concepts described herein.

[0061] Example 1 Suitable reactive polymers: Table 1 summarizes the structures and properties of three non-reactive polymers suitable for the photocurable compositions of the present disclosure: 1) polystyrene having an average molecular weight of 2400 g / mol, also referred to herein as "PS 2400" (Polystyrene standard from Scientific Polymer Products, inc.); 2) dicyclopentadiene phenolic resin having an average molecular weight of about 775 g / mol, also referred to herein as "DPR 755" (ERM-6140 from Songwon International-Americas, Inc.); and 3) polyphenylene oxide having an average molecular weight of about 6300 g / mol.

[0062] [Table 1]

[0063] Preparation of photocurable IPA composition Two different types of photocurable compositions were prepared containing the non-reactive polymers 1) polystyrene (PS 2400); and 2) dicyclopentadiene phenol resin (DPR 775). Both types of photocurable compositions contained the polymerizable material m-xylylene diacrylate (mXDA), 2 wt. % of the photoinitiator Omnirad 907, and 1 wt. % of the surfactant Pluronic L44.

[0064] Photocurable compositions were prepared with 10% and 20% by weight of non-reactive polymer, and the amount of polymerizable material (mXDA) was the balance up to 100% by weight, next to the photoinitiator and surfactant.

[0065] As a comparative sample (C1), a non-reactive polymer, i.e., m-xylylene diacrylate (mXDA) as the polymerizable material, and each photocurable composition not including a photoinitiator and a surfactant were used.

[0066] Measurement of linear shrinkage Shrinkage measurements were performed with an Anton Paar MCR-301 rheometer coupled to a UV curing system and heater. For the test, a 7 μl droplet of the resist composition was applied onto the plate, and the temperature-controlled hood was released to insulate the droplet from the measuring unit. The amount of resist was designed such that the thickness (hereinafter also referred to as height) of the resist layer was slightly higher than 0.1 mm. By presetting the target height to 0.1 mm, the measuring unit lowered to the set value and the excess amount of resist flowed off the plate. This ensured that the exact height of the liquid resist was 0.1 mm before curing. The resist was then irradiated with 100 mW / cm at 365 nm. 2 The resist was cured for 600 seconds at a UV output of 10 ...

[0067] A summary of the measured linear shrinkage is shown in Table 2 and Figure 1. It can be seen that both types of non-reactive polymers reduced the linear shrinkage with increasing amounts of non-reactive polymer in a similar manner. A 10 wt% amount of non-reactive polymer reduced the linear shrinkage by about 1.5% compared to the shrinkage of sample C1, and a 20 wt% amount further increased it to a reduction in shrinkage of about 2.5%.

[0068] [Table 2]

[0069] Thermal stability measurement From the photocurable compositions summarized in Table 2, photocurable layers were prepared by applying the respective resist compositions between two glass slides, the two glass slides having a distance of 300 microns from each other. The resist between the glass slides was applied at 2.4 J / cm 2 The composition was photocured by applying radiant energy of 1000 .mu.m.

[0070] The photocured layers were analyzed via thermographic analysis (TGA). TGA was performed using a LINSEIS STA PT1000 instrument (Linseis Messgeraete GmbH, Germany). All measurements were performed under nitrogen at a rate of 5 liters per hour. Samples (approximately 25 mg per test) were heated at a rate of 20°C / min and the weight loss was continuously recorded.

[0071] The TGA curves of the photocurable layer materials made from compositions S1 and S2, each formed with 10% by weight of non-reactive polymer, are shown in Figure 2. It can be seen that all the tested materials have a thermal degradation temperature greater than 300°C.

[0072] As used herein, thermal degradation temperature refers to the initial degradation temperature T(X), which is the temperature in the TGA curve at which deviation of the curve from a nearly linear plateau shape is first observed immediately prior to a sudden drop in mass of the sample, i.e., degradation.

[0073] viscosity Table 2 also lists the measured viscosities of the photocurable compositions. It can be seen that the inclusion of 10 wt% kept the viscosity of both compositions S1 and S2 below 30 mPa·s. The inclusion of 20 wt% increased the viscosity of S1 (containing polystyrene) to a value of 48 mPa·s, while sample S2 containing 20 wt% DPR 775 had a much higher viscosity that increased to about 105 mPa·s.

[0074] Viscosity was measured using a Brookfield Viscometer LVDV-II+Pro with spindle size #18 at 200 rpm at 23°C. For viscosity testing, approximately 6-7 mL of sample liquid was applied to the sample chamber, enough to cover the spindle head. For all viscosity tests, at least three measurements were performed and average values ​​were calculated.

[0075] Carbon content and Onishi number Table 3 shows the calculated carbon content and calculated Onishi number (ON) in the photocured layer after curing for the listed photocurable compositions.

[0076] For the calculation of carbon content, it is assumed that the polymerizable material together with the non-reactive polymer amounts to 100% of the layer material, and the carbon content is calculated based on all calculated weights per mole, with "%" representing the weight percent of carbon in the layer material. The calculated carbon content should be very close to the actual carbon content since there is no loss of material such as forming gas, water, etc. during curing.

[0077] The Ohnishi number (ON) is known to be an empirical parameter and is the total number of atoms in the repeating unit of a polymer (N t ) to the number of carbon atoms in the unit (N c ) and the number of oxygen atoms (N o ) divided by the difference between ON and N t / (N c -N o For the calculation of the Ohnishi number, the cured material was assumed to contain 100% by weight of polymerized monomer units formed by addition polymerization (no loss of atoms during polymerization). A decrease in the Ohnishi number can correspond to an increase in etch resistance.

[0078] [Table 3]

[0079] It can be seen that the addition of 10% by weight of polystyrene (PS 2400) increases the carbon content of the resulting photocured layer by approximately 2.5 percent, while the addition of 20% by weight of PS 2400 increases the carbon content by 5 percent.

[0080] An increase in carbon content is also seen with the presence of 10% and 20% by weight of dicyclopentadiene phenolic resin (DPR 775) in photocurable composition S2, with the carbon content increasing by about 1.5 percent for 10% by weight DPR and about 3 percent for the 20% by weight amount.

[0081] High carbon content is desirable in the photocurable layers of the present disclosure because increased carbon content correlates with increased etch resistance and thermal stability of the photocurable layers.

[0082] The specification and drawings of the embodiments described herein are intended to provide a general understanding of the configuration of the various embodiments. The specification and drawings are not intended to serve as an exhaustive and comprehensive description of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systems that use the configurations or methods described herein. Separate embodiments may be provided in combination in a single embodiment, while various features that are described for brevity in the context of a single embodiment may also be provided separately or in any subcombination. Furthermore, references to values ​​described in ranges include each and every value within that range. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art after reading this specification. Other embodiments can be used and derived from the present disclosure, such that structural substitutions, logical substitutions, or other changes are made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure should be interpreted as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

1. A photocurable composition comprising a polymerizable material, at least one non-reactive polymer, and a photoinitiator, the non-reactive polymer has a carbon content of at least 80%, based on the total weight of the non-reactive polymer; the molecular weight of the at least one non-reactive polymer is at least 750 g / mol and no more than 20,000 g / mol; the amount of said non-reactive polymer is at least 10% by weight and not more than 30% by weight; The viscosity of the photocurable composition is 110 mPa s or less. A photocurable composition comprising:

2. 10. The photocurable composition of claim 1, wherein the photocurable composition is adapted such that after photocuring, the photocurable composition has a linear shrinkage of 6 percent or less.

3. 3. The photocurable composition of claim 2, wherein the linear shrinkage is 5 percent or less.

4. 2. The photocurable composition according to claim 1, wherein the photocurable composition has a viscosity of 50 mPa·s or less.

5. 10. The photocurable composition of claim 1, wherein the non-reactive polymer has a carbon content of at least 85 percent.

6. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein the non-reactive polymer is soluble in the polymerizable material.

7. 2. The photocurable composition of claim 1, wherein the non-reactive polymer has a molecular weight of at least 750 g / mol and no more than 10,000 g / mol.

8. 8. The photocurable composition of claim 7, wherein the molecular weight of the non-reactive polymer is at least 2,000 g / mol and no more than 8,000 g / mol.

9. 2. The photocurable composition of claim 1, wherein the amount of the non-reactive polymer is 25% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the photocurable composition.

10. 2. The photocurable composition of claim 1, wherein the non-reactive polymer is selected from polystyrene, polyphenylene oxide, or dicyclopentadiene phenolic resin.

11. 2. The photocurable composition of claim 1, wherein the amount of the polymerizable material is at least 50% by weight, based on the total weight of the photocurable composition.

12. 10. The photocurable composition of claim 1, wherein the polymerizable material comprises at least one polymerizable monomer, the at least one polymerizable monomer having a boiling point of at least 250<0>C.

13. 10. The photocurable composition of claim 1, wherein the polymerizable material comprises at least one multifunctional acrylate monomer, at least one multifunctional vinyl monomer, or a combination thereof.

14. 10. The photocurable composition of claim 1, wherein the polymerizable material comprises at least one monofunctional acrylate monomer and at least one multifunctional acrylate monomer.

15. 10. The photocurable composition of claim 1, wherein the photocurable composition is adapted for nanoimprint lithography (NIL) or inkjet adaptive planarization (IAP).

16. 2. The photocurable composition of claim 1, wherein the total carbon content of a photocured layer formed from the photocurable composition has a carbon content of at least 70%.

17. 2. The photocurable composition of claim 1, wherein the photocurable composition has a thermal decomposition temperature of at least 300°C after photocuring.

18. 1. A method for forming a photocurable layer on a substrate, comprising: applying a layer of a photocurable composition onto the substrate, the photocurable composition comprising a polymerizable material, a non-reactive polymer, and a photoinitiator, the non-reactive polymer having a carbon content of at least 80% by weight based on the total weight of polymer, the molecular weight of at least one non-reactive polymer being at least 750 g / mol and no more than 20,000 g / mol, the amount of the non-reactive polymer being at least 10% by weight and no more than 30% by weight, and the viscosity of the photocurable composition being no more than 110 mPa s; contacting the photocurable composition with a template or superstrate; irradiating the photocurable composition with light to form a photocured layer; removing the template or the superstrate from the photocurable layer; 13. A method comprising:

19. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the layer of photocurable composition after forming the photocured layer has a linear heat shrinkage of 6 percent or less.

20. 1. A method of manufacturing an article, comprising the steps of: applying a layer of a photocurable composition onto a substrate, the photocurable composition comprising a polymerizable material, a non-reactive polymer, and a photoinitiator, the non-reactive polymer having a carbon content of at least 80% by weight based on the total weight of the polymer, the molecular weight of at least one non-reactive polymer being at least 750 g / mol and no more than 20,000 g / mol, the amount of the non-reactive polymer being at least 10% by weight and no more than 30% by weight, and the viscosity of the photocurable composition being no more than 110 mPa s; contacting the photocurable composition with a template or superstrate; irradiating the photocurable composition with light to form a photocured layer; removing the template or the superstrate from the photocurable layer; forming a pattern on the substrate; treating the substrate on which the pattern is formed in the forming; producing an article from the substrate processed in the processing; and 13. A method comprising:

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