The 1.4 and 248 nm radiation response of chemically amplified resists containing arylmethyl sulfone photoacid generators

The X-ray (1.4 nm) and deep UV (248 nm) radiation responses of chemically amplified photoresists incorporating arylmethyl sulfone photoacid generators were evaluated. The arylmethyl sulfones were primarily derivatives of benzyl phenyl sulfone, selected to reveal the importance of desulfonylation and internal abstraction with regard to the photochemical efficiency of acid generation. At 1.4 nm, benzyl phenyl sulfone gave a much more sensitive resist than dibenzyl sulfone, while the methyl derivatives of benzyl phenyl sulfone did not give much improvement over the parent compound. This suggests that desulfonylation is more important than internal abstraction for increased photochemical efficiency. At 248 nm, similar trends were observed, but with some modifications arising from the variation in extinction coefficient among the sulfones. Sensitivities at or below 20 mJ/cm2 were obtained for both wavelength ranges.