Manipulation of the thermal properties of positive DUV polymers

The thermal properties of the blocked polymers used in chemically amplified positive DUV photoresists are critical in determining ultimate resist performance as well as in the selection of processing parameters. Recently it has been shown that baking these resists at or above the glass transition temperature (T-g) significantly improves the delay stability of the resist. However in order to utilize this annealing concept two thermal properties, the T-g and the thermal decomposition temperature (T-d), of the blocked polymer must be controlled.