International Business Machines Corporation

Other

Ming-Fea Chow

Wayne Martin Moreau

Carlton G Willson

Kaolin N Chiong

Robert David Allen

Hiroshi Ito

Jean M Frechet

Scott Arthur MacDonald

William R Brunsvold

Willard E Conley

William L Guthrie

Frank Benjamin Kaufman

Christopher F Lyons

Edward C Fredericks

George J Hefferon

Anthony F Scaduto

Jer-Ming Yang

Alexander D Lopata

Dale M Crockatt

Nancy E Iwamoto

Robert C McIntosh

Nancy W Snyder

The dissolution rate in alkaline developer solutions of image-wise exposed photoresist systems based on diazoquinone sensitized polyamic acid is reduced to prepare relief images of fine line resolution by reducing the acidity of the polyamic acid prior to exposure.

Process of making diazoquinone sensitized polyamic acid based

The present invention discloses particular lithographic polymeric materials and methods of using these materials, wherein the polymeric materials have acid labile or photolabile groups pendant to the polymer backbone. The polymeric materials are sufficiently transparent to deep UV radiation to permit deep UV imaging, can be used to produce resist structures having thermal stability at temperatures greater than about 160.degree. C., and are sufficiently resistant to excessive crosslinking when heated to temperatures ranging from about 160.degree. C. to about 250.degree. C. that they remain soluble in common lithographic developers and strippers. The present invention also discloses resists comprising substituted polyvinyl benzoates which, after imaging, exhibit unexpectedly high thermal stability, in terms of plastic flow. These resists cannot be imaged using deep UV because they exhibit such a high degree of opacity below 280 nm; however, they are useful as the top, imaging layer in a bilayer resist process wherein the top layer acts as a mask during deep UV exposure of the bottom layer.

Thermally stable photoresists with high sensitivity

The present invention is concerned with methods of converting a single resist layer into a multilayered resist. The upper portion of the single resist layer can be converted into a dry-etch resistant form. The conversion can be a blanket conversion of the upper portion of the resist layer or can be a patterned conversion of areas within the upper portion of the layer. A patternwise-converted resist can be oxygen plasma developed. The upper portion of the single resist layer can be patternwise converted into a chemically different composition or structure having altered absorptivity toward radiation. The difference in radiation absorptivity within the patterned upper portion of the resist enables subsequent use of blanket irradiation of the resist surface to create differences in chemical solubility between areas having the altered absorptivity toward radiation and non-altered areas. The difference in chemical solubility enables wet development of the patterned resist.

Top imaged resists

The present invention discloses a method of forming fine conductive lines, patterns, and connectors, and is particularly useful in the formation of electronic devices. The method comprises a series of steps in which: a polymeric material is applied to a substrate; the polymeric material is patterned to form openings through, spaces within, or combinations thereof in the polymeric material; subsequently, conductive material is applied to the patterned polymeric material, so that it at least fills the openings and spaces existing in the polymeric material; and excess conductive material is removed from the exterior major surface of the polymeric material using chemical-mechanical polishing, to expose at least the exterior major surface of the polymeric material. The structure remaining has a planar exterior surface, wherein the conductive material filling the openings and spaces in the patterned polymeric material becomes features such as fine lines, patterns, and connectors which are surrounded by the polymeric material. The polymeric material may be left in place as an insulator or removed, leaving the conductive features on the substrate.

Method of forming fine conductive lines, patterns and connectors

A process for setting the exposure speed of photolithography instruments is described, using a method of dosimetry based on photoactive compound bleaching of photoresist. A curve of light absorbance to exposure speed and a calibration curve of light absorbance to dose are determined for a photoresist. The exposure speed for any desired degree of resist bleaching can be set using the first curve, and the exposure speed for a predetermined dosage can be set by determining the common light absorbance value on the exposure speed and dosage curves.

Method for dose calculation of photolithography projection printers

A resist system for semiconductor device fabrication comprised of bottom positive resist layer of a diazoquinone/novolak resist applied to a substrate and overcoated with a like or different diazoquinone/novolak top resist layer which has been sensitized with pyrene and/or its derivatives.

Process for forming resist masks utilizing O-quinone diazide and pyrene

Growing community of inventors

Poughquag, NY, United States of America

Ming-Fea Chow