Molecular glass resists for next generation lithography

In order to meet the growing demand of the electronics industry for smaller, higher resolution features much recent attention has focused on next generation lithographic techniques, such as Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) or e-beam lithography. Complementary to this field of research is the design of the next generation of photoresists to produce sub 50 nm feature sizes. Chemically amplified molecular glass resists are among the most promising alternatives to traditional polymeric materials. These materials are monodisperse, amorphous organic molecules which lead to high resolution patterns with low line edge roughness owing to their small size and lack of chain entanglement. In this submission, we describe our work in the development of molecular glass resists. The materials are designed with rigid cores, to ensure high T-g, and with bulky side groups to inhibit crystallization. We show that these materials are capable of producing high resolution feature sizes and show great promise in meeting the demands of emerging next-generation lithographic techniques.