ADHESION BETWEEN PHOTORESIST AND INORGANIC SUBSTRATE

Adhesion strength of a photoresist during pattern development decreases as penetration of an alkaline aqueous solution into the photoresist film. Resistance measurements confirmed the penetration. The tensile stress of photoresist films increases as the penetration increases. The creation of inner stress also causes adhesion failure during HF etching. These phenomena cannot be explained by a balance model of surface energy. Therefore, we conclude that the increase in tensile stress causes adhesion loss during both pattern development and HF etching.