Resist Composition for Liquid Immersion Exposure Water Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin compositions used in liquid immersion exposure for semiconductor manufacturing do not achieve the required depth of focus (DOF) and water tracking properties, leading to suboptimal performance in high-speed liquid immersion exposure processes.
Innovation Solution
A resin composition combining a fluorine-containing polymer and a specific ester compound with alkali decomposability, where the ester compound has a molecular weight of 50 to 1,500 and includes electron-withdrawing groups, is used to enhance the water tracking property and DOF of the resist film.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hydrophobic resin such as a polymer having a fluorine atom is included in the actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition to improve water tracking property, then water tracking property is improved, but depth of focus (DOF) does not reach the required level
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite material system consisting of a fluorine-containing polymer (for hydrophobicity and water tracking) combined with a specific ester compound having alkali decomposability and electron-withdrawing groups (for DOF enhancement). This composite approach allows simultaneous achievement of both water tracking property and depth of focus by combining materials with complementary functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent specifies precise parameter ranges for the ester compound (molecular weight of 50 or more and less than 1,500, and specific structural formulas with electron-withdrawing groups) to optimize both water tracking property and depth of focus. By controlling molecular weight and chemical structure parameters, the invention achieves the dual performance requirement.
2Manufacturing precision
If liquid immersion exposure is used to form finer patterns, then pattern fineness is improved, but the immersion liquid must move at high speed and be tracked with high-speed movement of lens, requiring excellent water tracking property
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite resist composition containing fluorine-containing polymer and specific ester compound that work synergistically to provide both the water tracking property needed for high-speed liquid immersion exposure and the DOF required for fine pattern formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The ester compound with specific molecular weight range (50-1,500) and electron-withdrawing groups provides localized chemical properties that enhance water tracking at the resist film surface, while the fluorine-containing polymer provides bulk hydrophobicity, creating a multi-layered functional structure with different local qualities.
Data Source
AI summary
An actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition includes a resin whose solubility in an aqueous alkali solution increases by the action of an acid, a compound that generates an acid upon irradiation with actinic rays or radiation, an ester compound, and a fluorine-containing polymer, in which the ester compound has alkali decomposability and has a molecular weight of 50 or more and less than 1,500.