The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 20, 1996
Filed:
Jun. 05, 1995
James P Collins, Chittenden County, VT (US);
Judy Dorn, Dutchess County, NY (US);
James T Fahey, Middlesex County, MA (US);
Leo Linehan, Orange County, NY (US);
William J Miller, Chittenden County, VT (US);
Wayne Moreau, Dutchess County, NY (US);
Erik A Puttlitz, Chittenden County, VT (US);
Randolph Smith, Orange County, NY (US);
Gary Spinillo, Dutchess County, NY (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
Microbridge formation in chemically amplified negative tone photoresists based on poly(hydroxystyrene) (PHS) is avoided when the PHS is blended together with a co-polymer of PHS and an acrylic polymer such as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The blend should include at least 10% by weight of the co-polymer. In operation, hydrogen bonding between the hydroxystyrene sub-units and the methacrylate sub-units decreases the availability of sites for crosslinking, and this reduction in crosslinking sites makes the blend less susceptible to formation of polymer resist microbridges. The invention is practicable with a polymers having a wide range of molecular weights (2000-50000 daltons), and development can be achieved using the industry standard 2.38 wt % trimethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) developer without any adverse impact on the photoresist.