Characterization of new aromatic polymers for 157 nm photoresist applications

There is currently tremendous interest in developing 157 WP photoresists for imaging applications at 100 and below. Due to the high VUV absorbance of the polymers used in 248 and 193 photoresists new materials are being investigated for applications at 157 nm. In this report the characterization of a number of partially fluorinated polymers based on aromatic backbones will be described. Data on the absorbance, dissolution properties, solvent retention and acid diffusion characteristics of these systems will be presented. © 2001 SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering.