(602e) Performance Of Advanced Resists Based On Polymer-Bound Pag Resins

As device dimensions shrink below the 65 nm node, great demands are being placed on the photoresists that are used to achieve pattern definition during semiconductor device fabrication. Current chemically amplified photoresist designs based on blending a protected polymer resin with a photoacid generator appear to have a number of serious performance limitations that may limit their usefulness for future device generations including high line edge roughness and a significant trade-off between resolution and photospeed. In an attempt to overcome these issues, we have been exploring the properties of a new class of chemically amplified photoresists based on protected polymer resins that contain a photoacid generator bound directly to the polymer backbone. Recent studies have shown this new class of resist to have significant advantages over more traditional blended resists. This paper will present recent results showing direct comparisons between blended resists and polymer-bound PAG resists that demonstrate improved line edge roughness, enhanced resolution, reduced photoacid diffusion in these polymer-bound PAG resists while maintaining high photospeeds. Fundamental studies of photoacid generator reaction kinetics and acid catalytic chain length will also be discussed to help explain the observed resist behavior.