Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 41 (2002) pp. 4217-4221  |Next Article|  |Table of Contents|
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Binary-Solvent Developer for Cross-Linked Positive-Tone Resists

Toru Yamaguchi and Hideo Namatsu

(Received November 1, 2001; accepted for publication February 25, 2002)

A new binary-solvent developer has been developed for a cross-linked positive-tone resist called suppressed aggregate extraction development (SAGEX) resist. It is composed of a good solvent and a poor solvent that does not produce swelling in the resist polymer. Hydrocarbon, such as n-hexane, was used as a poor solvent in this study because alcohol, which is conventionally used as a poor solvent, was not effective. A hydrocarbon, which causes little swelling of the base polymer, reduces the dissolution of lightly exposed SAGEX resist in a good solvent. As a result, with this developer, a high contrast can be obtained and resist residue can be eliminated at the same time. In addition, this developer has been shown to be effective in reducing resist roughness; that is, it helps reduce the line-edge roughness of resist patterns to 1 nm or less.

URL: http://jjap.jsap.jp/link?JJAP/41/4217/
DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.41.4217
KEYWORDS:line-edge roughness, positive-tone resists, development, electron beam lithography, polymer aggregates

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