Novel fluorinated polymers for application in 193-nm lithography and 193-nm immersion lithography

Recently, many fluorine compounds are used widely in photolithography. We synthesized some novel fluorinated polymers for application in 193-nm lithography and 193-nm immersion lithography Their fundamental properties were characterized, such as transparency at 193-nm (wavelength) and solubility in water and a standard alkaline developer. High transparency, i.e., absorbance better than 0.2 mu m(-1) at 193-nm wavelength, was achieved. The dissolution behaviors of them were studied by using the Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) method. Several polymers dissolved in water and showed high transparency and a low refractive index by a wavelength of 193-nm. These results show that their polymers were able to apply to top anti reflective coating (TARC). The dissolution rates of the fluoropolymers in water and a 0.262N can be controlled by optimizing counter monomers containing hexafluoroisopropanol (HFA) unit, carboxylic acid unit and so on. In addition, we have collect water contact angle and sliding angle data. This data shows that fluoropolymers can be used as top-coats for 193-nm immersion lithography resists.