New fluorinated resins for 157 nm lithography application

As part of a new generation of more transparent 157 nm resist platforms we are developing, a novel resist system is described that has higher transparency and contrast than AZ(R)FX(TM) 1000P. Using a new protecting group strategy, encouraging results have been obtained with both poly(alpha,alpha-bis(trifluoromethyl)bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-ene-2-ethanol) and a more transparent perfluorinated resin (TFR). These new resist systems show absorbance values as low as 1 mum(-1) at 157 nm, have twice the contrast (i.e., 12 instead of 7) of AZ(R)FX(TM) 1000P, and have neither significant dark erosion nor do they switch to negative tone behavior within the dose range studied. The dry etch resistance of the TFR platform is found to be superior to a Standard DUV resist for polysilicon but somewhat lower for oxide etches. Features as small as 50 nm lines and spaces were resolved for slightly relaxed pitches (1:1.5 micron). By adjusting the base level it is possible to improve the photospeed by a factor of more than 10 while still maintaining a resolution of 70 nm L/S features.