Photocurable Stepped Substrate Coating Composition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional photocrosslinking materials face challenges in filling patterns on substrates due to heat shrinkage and degassing issues, which affect the flattening properties of the coating films formed during the lithography process for semiconductor devices.
Innovation Solution
A photocurable composition for coating stepped substrates is developed, containing specific polymer structures that allow for photocuring without thermal crosslinking or acid catalysts, preventing heat shrinkage and enabling effective pattern filling and flattening without degassing, using a polymer with unit structures that facilitate crosslinking through unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a polymer having a thermal crosslinking-forming functional group such as a hydroxyl group, a crosslinker, and an acid catalyst are used for pattern filling, then the viscosity increases during heating, but heat shrinkage due to degassing occurs and flattening properties deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the acid catalyst component from the conventional thermal crosslinking system. By using a polymer with carboxyl groups that can undergo direct thermal decarboxylation and crosslinking without requiring an acid catalyst, the system eliminates the harmful degassing effect while maintaining pattern filling capability. This is achieved by selecting specific polymers whose carboxyl groups decompose at temperatures that avoid excessive gas evolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the chemical parameter of the crosslinking mechanism from acid-catalyzed condensation to direct thermal decarboxylation. By selecting polymers with specific carboxyl group configurations that decompose at controlled temperatures, the system achieves crosslinking with minimal gas evolution, thereby improving flattening properties while maintaining pattern filling effectiveness.
2Strength
If conventional photocrosslinking materials are used, then crosslinking reaction proceeds during heating to increase viscosity, but heat shrinkage occurs due to degassing
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the acid catalyst component from the crosslinking system and replaces it with a polymer containing carboxyl groups that undergo direct thermal decarboxylation. This extraction eliminates the primary source of degassing while maintaining crosslinking density, as the carboxyl groups decompose to form crosslinks with minimal gas evolution compared to acid-catalyzed systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the potentially harmful degassing effect into a beneficial controlled process by selecting polymers whose carboxyl groups decompose at specific temperatures to produce minimal gas evolution. The decarboxylation reaction is harnessed to create crosslinks while the gas evolution is controlled to avoid heat shrinkage and flattening deterioration.
3Reliability
If a polymer having cationic polymerizable reactive group and acid generator are used, then photocuring is achieved, but heat shrinkage due to degassing occurs during heating
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the acid generator component from the photocuring system. By using a polymer with carboxyl groups that undergo direct thermal decarboxylation and crosslinking without requiring an acid catalyst, the system eliminates the harmful degassing effect while maintaining photocuring performance. This approach achieves crosslinking through a different chemical pathway that does not produce excessive gas.
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 composition achieves high filling and flattening properties, forming a stable and flat film with high heat resistance, suitable for semiconductor device manufacturing by preventing thermal crosslinking reactions and ensuring photoreaction-based crosslinking without heat-induced shrinkage.
Implementation Method 1
a polymer having a unit structure of Formula (1)... crosslinking through unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds... photocuring without thermal crosslinking or acid catalysts
Data Source
AI summary
A stepped substrate-coating composition having high properties of filling a pattern and capable of forming on a substrate a coating film that can be formed by photocuring, has flattening properties, and has high heat resistance after irradiation with light. A photocurable composition for coating a stepped substrate, the photocurable composition containing a polymer containing a unit structure of Formula (1):wherein A1, A2, and A3 are each independently an aromatic C6-100 ring optionally containing a heteroatom or a hydrocarbon group containing an aromatic C6-100 ring optionally containing a heteroatom, B1, B2, and B3 are each independently Formula (2):wherein R1 is a C1-10 alkylene group, a C1-10 alkenylene group, a C1-10 alkynylene group, a C6-40 arylene group, an oxygen atom, a carbonyl group, a sulfur atom, —C(O)—O—, —C(O)—NRa—, —NRb—, or a group including a combination thereof, R2 is a hydrogen atom or a C1-10 alkyl group.