Study on resist performance of chemically amplified molecular resists based on cyclic oligomers

• We developed positive-tone chemically amplified molecular resist materials based on cyclic oligomers.
• We clarified that a small modification of noria resists can cause a significant change in sensitivity.
• Cyclic oligomers have the potential to offer exceptional resolution as EUV and EB resist materials.

Novel resist materials are required for lithographic processing with ionization radiation such as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and electron beam (EB) exposure tools. In this study, we synthesized positive-tone chemically amplified molecular resist materials with pendant adamantyl ester (AD) and cyclohexyl 2-propyl ether moieties based on cyclic oligomers such as noria, calixarene dimer, cyclodextrin, and pillar[5]arene, and we examined the lithographic performances of sensitivity, etching durability, and patterning under EUV and EB exposure. We clarified that the sensitivity of the resist materials was consistent with the structure of the cyclic oligomers, i.e., the hole size of the molecular structure might be an important factor relevant to high-resolution resist materials. We found that chemically amplified molecular resists based on cyclic oligomers such as noria, calixarene dimer, cyclodextrin, and pillar[5]arene are promising candidates for higher-resolution resist materials.

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