Relationship between electron sensitivity and chemical structures of polymers as electron beam resists. VI: Electron sensitivity of various acetalized poly(vinyl alcohol)s

Abstract

AbstractAcetalized poly(vinyl alcohol)s which were synthesized from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and aldehyde or ketone were evaluated as electron beam (EB) resists, in order to investigate the relationship between EB sensitivity and chemical structures of the polymers. It was found that the acetalized PVAs were easily crosslinked by EB exposure. The main mechanism of crosslinking may be radical reaction at acetal group. The sensitivity of the acetalized PVA depended on the structure of the acetal group. Acetalized PVAs synthesized from benzaldehyde, in which the electron attracting group was substituted on the benzene ring and from linear aliphatic aldehyde having a long alkyl chain, had high sensitivity. A high sensitivity of 7.2 × 10−7 C/cm2 was attained when the acetalized PVA synthesized from p‐chloro‐benzaldehyde was used. Acetalized PVAs synthesized from PVA and aldehyde having a cyclic structure had an excellent dry etching durability and were suitable as negative EB resists.