Curable Resin Composition for Dry-Etching Resist Masks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dry-etching resist materials face challenges in achieving good dry etching performance and precise pattern reproducibility, particularly in forming highly fine patterns, as they either lack curability or have low dry etching performance due to their chemical composition.
Innovation Solution
A curable resin composition with a polymer (A) having a specific structure, represented by formula (a-1), which includes 80 to 100 wt % of structural units X1 and X2, with a particular ratio of m/(m+n) and a molecular weight of 300 to 100,000, and a milliequivalent of vinyl groups per gram of 1.8 to 12.8 meq/g, is used to create a dry-etching resist mask that provides excellent dry etching performance and fine pattern formability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If polystyrene is used as a resist material, then dry-etching resistance is improved, but curability deteriorates (cannot form highly fine patterns)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite resin composition containing polystyrene (80-95 wt%) as the base material for dry-etching resistance, combined with a specific polymer (A) having vinyl groups (formula a-1) that provides curability. This composite approach allows the resist to simultaneously achieve high dry-etching resistance from polystyrene and pattern formability from the curable polymer component.
2Manufacturing precision
If curable compositions including (meth)acryloyl group compounds are used, then pattern formability is improved, but dry etching performance deteriorates due to oxygen content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the oxygen-containing (meth)acryloyl group from the curable polymer structure and replaces it with vinyl groups in the polymer (A) having formula (a-1). This extraction removes the harmful oxygen element that reduces dry-etching resistance while retaining the essential curability function through the vinyl group's ability to undergo polymerization reactions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters of the curable polymer by specifying that polymer (A) must contain vinyl groups (Z1 or Z2 in formula a-1) instead of oxygen-containing functional groups. The milliequivalent of vinyl groups is controlled at 1.8 to 12.8 meq/g, which optimizes both curability and dry-etching resistance by adjusting the concentration of reactive vinyl groups without introducing oxygen.
3Productivity
If higher integration and finer patterns are pursued, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to difficulty in forming highly fine patterns
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by incorporating a polymerization initiator into the resin composition before resist formation. This allows the resist to be cured in advance to form a crosslinked structure that provides mechanical strength and dimensional stability, enabling the resist to maintain precise fine patterns during subsequent dry-etching processes without deformation or collapse.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The resin composition achieves good dry etching performance and precise pattern reproducibility, enabling the formation of highly fine patterns with high transferability and resistance, even in nanoimprinting applications.
Implementation Method 1
a curable resin composition for a dry-etching resist... contains a polymer (A) having a structure represented by a formula (a-1)... Z1 is a hydrocarbon group having at least one vinyl group
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a curable resin composition for a dry-etching resist, the curable resin composition containing a polymer (A) having, in a side chain, a particular structure including an aromatic group having a vinyl group. The polymer (A) includes 80 to 100 wt % of the particular structure. In addition, provided are a dry-etching resist mask obtained by curing the curable composition for a dry-etching resist, and the dry-etching resist mask having a pattern formed by a nanoimprint method.