Immersion Resist Composition with Dynamic Fluorine Compound
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In immersion lithography, resist materials face challenges such as substance elution into the immersion medium, affecting lithography properties, and low water tracking ability, which can lead to defects and reduced productivity, especially when the resist film is made hydrophobic to enhance these properties.
Innovation Solution
A resist composition incorporating a fluorine-containing compound that is hydrophobic during immersion exposure but becomes hydrophilic during alkali developing, using a polymeric compound with a specific formula that is decomposable in an alkali developing solution, improving surface properties and water tracking ability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If the resist film is made hydrophobic to reduce substance elution into the immersion medium, then substance elution is reduced, but water tracking ability deteriorates leading to defects and reduced productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by using a fluorine-containing compound that dynamically changes its solubility properties based on the processing stage. During immersion exposure, the compound maintains hydrophobicity to reduce substance elution. During alkali developing, the compound becomes decomposable and transitions to hydrophilic state, enabling effective development and maintaining water tracking ability. This dynamic property change resolves the contradiction between reducing substance elution and maintaining water tracking ability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the chemical structure of the fluorine-containing compound to have different solubility parameters at different stages. The compound is designed with specific structural features (formula (c-1) with R1 being hydrogen, lower alkyl, or halogenated lower alkyl) that enable it to exhibit hydrophobic character during exposure and hydrophilic character during development, thus changing the solubility parameter according to the processing stage to resolve the contradiction.
2Productivity
If the resist film is made hydrophobic to improve water tracking ability, then water tracking ability is improved, but substance elution into the immersion medium increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fluorine-containing compound dynamically adjusts its surface properties: hydrophobic during immersion exposure to prevent substance elution, and hydrophilic during alkali developing to ensure water tracking ability. This temporal separation of properties resolves the apparent contradiction.
Solution Approach 2:
The compound's solubility parameter is changed based on processing conditions. The specific molecular structure allows it to exhibit low solubility in water during exposure and high solubility in alkali developing solution during development, thus changing the parameter to satisfy both requirements at different stages.
3Loss of substance
If a fluorine-containing polymeric compound is used as base resin to reduce substance elution, then substance elution is reduced, but etching resistance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by incorporating the fluorine-containing compound specifically at the resist film surface where substance elution occurs, rather than throughout the entire resist structure. This localized placement provides hydrophobic protection against substance elution while maintaining the bulk resist material's etching resistance properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite material system combining the base resist material with the fluorine-containing compound. This composite structure allows the fluorine compound to provide surface hydrophobicity for reduced substance elution, while the base material maintains etching resistance, thus resolving the contradiction between these two properties.
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 resist composition effectively reduces substance elution and enhances water tracking ability, leading to improved lithography properties and reduced defects in the resist pattern, while maintaining hydrophobicity during exposure and becoming hydrophilic during development.
Implementation Method 1
a fluorine-containing compound (C) which is a polymeric compound represented by general formula (c-1) that is decomposable in an alkali developing solution
Implementation Method 2
improving surface properties and water tracking ability
Implementation Method 3
a fluorine-containing compound (C) which is a polymeric compound represented by general formula (c-1) that is decomposable in an alkali developing solution
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A resist composition for immersion exposure, including a base component (A) that exhibits changed solubility in an alkali developing solution under action of acid, an acid generator component (B) that generates acid upon exposure, and a fluorine-containing compound (C) represented by a general formula (c-1) shown below that is decomposable in an alkali developing solution: wherein R1 represents an organic group which may contain a polymerizable group, with the proviso that said polymerizable group has a carbon-carbon multiple bond, and the carbon atoms forming the multiple bond are not directly bonded to the carbon atom within the -C(=O)- group in general formula (c-1); and R2 represents an organic group having a fluorine atom.