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US 6,190,841 B1Granted
Pattern forming process and a photosensitive composition
AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
InventorsNaoko Kihara, Satoshi Saito, Toru Ushirogouchi
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AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
InventorsNaoko Kihara, Satoshi Saito, Toru Ushirogouchi
Estimating the term…
The present invention provides a pattern forming process. The process comprises the following steps. (1) A photosensitive material is prepared by coating a photosensitive composition onto the surface of a substrate. The photosensitive composition comprises the following components: (a) an acid generator which generates an acid when irradiated with actinic radiation, and (b) a compound containing carboxyl groups, which can decompose upon decarboxylation. (2) The photosensitive material is subjected to pattern-wise exposure to actinic radiation, thereby allowing the acid generator (a) to generate an acid in the exposed area. (3) The acid generated in the exposed area is neutralized with a basic compound (c). (4) The carboxyl groups in the carboxyl-group-containing compound (b) in the unexposed area are decarboxylated by applying conditions under which the basic compound (c) can catalyze decarboxylation. (5) The photosensitive material, and composition used in the above process are developed. The basic compound (c) can be introduced in advance into the photosensitive material prepared in step (1). By using such a pattern forming process or a photosensitive composition, a pattern can successfully be formed with high reproducibility without being affected by the environment.
A pattern forming process comprising the steps of:
A pattern forming process comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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Processing photosensitive materials; Apparatus therefor: treatment before imagewise removal, e.g. prebaking
Photosensitive materials: with organic non-macromolecular light-sensitive compounds not otherwise provided for, e.g. dissolution inhibitors
Photosensitive materials: macromolecular compounds which are photodegradable, e.g. positive electron resists
Photomechanical production of textured or patterned surfaces
Term ended 21 Dec 2018 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
The present invention relates to a pattern forming process useful for fine patterning which is conducted in manufacturing processes of semiconductor elements or the like, and to a photosensitive composition.
In manufacturing processes of electronic components such as LSIs, fine pattern techniques utilizing photolithography have conventionally been adopted. Namely, a resist solution is first coated onto the surface of a substrate or the like to form a resist film; and the resist film is subjected to pattern-wise exposure to light, or scanned by beams, and then developed by an alkaline developer to form a resist pattern. Subsequently, the substrate or the like is etched by utilizing this resist pattern as a mask to form minute lines and openings; and the remaining resist is finally removed.
To attain higher integration, there has also been studied the application of electron beam lithography to mass production as a method for precisely forming patterns at levels of sub-quarter microns or less. In general, however, electron beam lithography has such a drawback that it is poor in throughput as compared with conventional light projection. In order to overcome this drawback, studies are now being conducted on resists having high sensitivity to electron beams, particularly chemically sensitized resists.
In the drawings,
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the mechanism of pattern formation in a pattern forming process of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the mechanism of pattern formation in a pattern forming process of the present invention in which the photosensitive material contains the basic compound as a resist component; and
<Pattern Forming Process>
A pattern forming process of the present invention comprises the following steps:
(1) preparing a photosensitive material by coating, onto the surface of a substrate, a photosensitive composition comprising the following components: