High-index resist for 193-nm immersion lithography

ArF immersion lithography using water as a fluid medium enables production of 45 nm features. Extending immersion lithography to 32 nm or below requires increases in the refractive indices of the lens material, the immersion fluid, and the resist material. However, a material with a high refractive index generally also has high absorbance. In attempt to design a resist with high refractive index and low absorbance, we studied several types of sulfur-containing polymers and determined which sulfur groups increase the refractive index without increasing the absorbance at 193 nm. We describe new thioester and sulfone structures that enable high index with low absorbance. This chemistry has been exploited to produce polymers with a refractive index of 1.8 at 193 nm and an absorbance less than 1.4 mm-1. The compatibility of the sulfur functionality with chemically amplified imaging chemistry was demonstrated by printing at 193 nm.