Dissolution dynamics of zirconia nanocluster resist

Abstract

The metal oxide resists are promising materials for the high numerical aperture EUV lithography. In the metal oxide resists, the bridging ligands are generated upon exposure to radiations, which results in the formation of a pattern insoluble in developers. In this study, the dissolution dynamics of zirconia nanocluster resist was investigated using a quartz crystal microbalance method. The ligand was methacrylate. The developers used were ethyl, butyl, amyl, hexyl, 2-methylbutyl, and 3-methylbutyl acetates. The zirconia nanocluster resist showed characteristic dissolution dynamics. After the immersion into developers, the frequency slowly decreased with approximately constant impedance (no viscosity change of the film) for a while and then rapidly dissolved with the softening of resist film. The dependences of dissolution dynamics on the molecular structures of acetates and post exposure baking were clarified. The effect of branched structure at the third position of butyl was, in particular, remarkable.