Ways of increasing the service life of positive photoresists

The change in the functional properties of positive photoresists during their storage is a serious issue in photolithography. The recovery of the functional properties of photoresists, and especially, the quality of the edge of the formed elements and changes in their sizes compared to the sizes in the photostencil, is possible by the introduction of additives into the composition of positive photoresists which form hydrogen bonds with the novolak resins constituting them prior to their usage. Experimental verification of the correlation between the density of the hydrogen bonds and the photoresist resolution has been obtained.