Liu, J.; Wang, D.; Li, Y.; Wang, H.; Chen, H.; Wang, Q.; Kang, W. Exceptional Lithography Sensitivity Boosted by Hexafluoroisopropanols in Photoresists. Polymers2024, 16, 825.
Liu, J.; Wang, D.; Li, Y.; Wang, H.; Chen, H.; Wang, Q.; Kang, W. Exceptional Lithography Sensitivity Boosted by Hexafluoroisopropanols in Photoresists. Polymers 2024, 16, 825.
Liu, J.; Wang, D.; Li, Y.; Wang, H.; Chen, H.; Wang, Q.; Kang, W. Exceptional Lithography Sensitivity Boosted by Hexafluoroisopropanols in Photoresists. Polymers2024, 16, 825.
Liu, J.; Wang, D.; Li, Y.; Wang, H.; Chen, H.; Wang, Q.; Kang, W. Exceptional Lithography Sensitivity Boosted by Hexafluoroisopropanols in Photoresists. Polymers 2024, 16, 825.
Abstract
Advanced lithography requires highly sensitive photoresists to improve lithographic efficiency, and it is critical yet challenging to develop high-sensitivity photoresists and imaging strategies. Here, we report a novel strategy for ultra-high sensitivity using hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP)-containing fluoropolymer photoresists. The incorporation of HFIP, with its strong electrophilic property and electron-withdrawing effect of the fluorine atoms, significantly increases the acidity of the photoresist after exposure, enabling imaging without conventional photoacid generators (PAGs). The HFIP-containing photoresist has been evaluated by electron beam lithography to achieve a trench of ~40 nm at an extremely low dose of 3 μC/cm2, which shows sensitivity enhancement by ~10 times to the commercial PAGs involved system, revealing its high-sensitivity and high-resolution features. Our results demonstrate a new type of PAGs and a novel approach to higher-performance imaging beyond conventional photoresist performance tuning.
Chemistry and Materials Science, Materials Science and Technology
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