Study of dissolution properties of cycloolefin-maleic anhydride based resist resins

Influence of different functional groups on dissolution behavior of resist resins based on charge-transfer polymerization of cycloolefins with maleic anhydride was studied. tertButyl carboxylate moiety was used in all materials as an imaging group. Two approaches were identified for increase in the dissolution rate of totally deprotected polymers (Rmax). First, the Rmax value can be modified by changing the total amount of tertbutyl-protected and unprotected carboxylate moieties in the polymer. On the other hand, Rmax can be improved by introducing the base-hydrolyzable functionalities, such as a formate esters, into the polymer chain. It was established that such polymers are stable to hydrolysis in hydrophobic matrix but undergo quick hydrolysis in hydrophilic film. For example, a polymer in which the cycloolefin moiety has a formate side group displayed dissolution rate of similar to 10,000 Angstrom/sec while an analogous polymer in which the cycloolefin moiety does not have a formate group showed a dissolution rate of similar to 500 Angstrom/sec.