High performance electron negative resist, chloromethylated polystyrene. A study on molecular parameters

Abstract High sensitivity and high contrast electron negative resist, chloromethylated polystyrene (CMS) was developed for direct writing electron beam lithography with 1‐μm resolution. The resist shows excellent lithographic performances such as high plasma‐etching durability and negligible “post polymerization effect”. A series of CMS covering a wide range ofM̄w, 6,800–560,000, were synthesized by the chloromethylation of nearly monodisperse polystyrenes. The effects of molecular parameters on sensitivity and resolution were investigated. The chloromethylation remarkably improved the reactivity of polystyrene, but which was saturated above 40% of chloromethylation ratio. About 100 times higher sensitivity could be achieved as compared with the starting material. As the increase of chloromethylation ratio (CR) gradually broadened the molecular weight distribution (MWD), the optimum CR was evaluated to be about 40%. In the above range ofM̄w, the sensitivity varies from 39 to 0.4 μC/cm, whereas the γ‐value varies from 3.0 to 1.4. A sharp edge profile was obtained in developed pattern of CMS resist because of its relatively high glass‐transition temperature (68–115°C) compared with commercial resists and the suitable selection of a developer. The resolution of CMS was compared with the structually related polymers synthesized from polystyrene with a broader MWD or vinylbenzylchloride and poly(chloroethylvinylether) (CEVE). These polymers show significantly lower resolution than CMS, which indicates the importance of MWD andTgin electron negative resist.