Terminology of polymers in advanced lithography (IUPAC Recommendations 2020)

Abstract

Abstract As increasingly smaller molecular materials and material structures are devised or developed for technological applications, the demands on the processes of lithography now routinely include feature sizes that are of the order of 10 nm. In reaching such a fine level of resolution, the methods of lithography have increased markedly in sophistication and brought into play 2terminology that is unfamiliar, on the one hand, to scientists tasked with the development of new lithographic materials or, on the other, to the engineers who design and operate the complex equipment that is required in modern-day processing. Publications produced by scientists need to be understood by engineers and vice versa, and these commonly arise from collaborative research that draws heavily on the terminology of two or more of the traditional disciplines. It is developments in polymer science and material science that lead progress in areas that cross traditional boundaries, such as microlithography. This document provides the exact definitions of a selection of unfamiliar terms that researchers and practitioners from different disciplines might encounter.