Abstract: Disclosed is a chemically amplified positive photoresist composition including a multi-component copolymer having a polystyrene-reduced weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 3,000 to 50,000 and a molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn) of 1.0 to 3.0, a low molecular weight additive, an acid generator, and a solvent. A resist composition comprising the additive may provide a resist pattern excellent in sensitivity as well as adhesion to substrate and dry etching resistance. Such a resist composition is a promising material greatly suitable for use in the fabrication of semiconductor devices that are expected to have further fineness. Especially, the resist composition is suitable for KrF or ArF excimer laser lithography and thus useful in the fine engineering of less than 0.20 micron patterns.

Abstract: A resist pattern, containing a material capable of generating an acid by exposure to light, is covered with a resist containing a material capable of crosslinkage in the presence of an acid. The acid is generated in the resist pattern by application of heat or by exposure to light, and a crosslinked layer is formed at the interface as a cover layer for the resist pattern, thereby causing the resist pattern to be thickened. Thus, the hole diameter of the resist pattern can be reduced, or the isolation width of a resist pattern can be reduced.

Abstract: The invention provides organic optical waveguide devices which employ perfluoropolymeric materials having low optical loss and low birefringence. An optical element has a substrate; a patterned, light transmissive perfluoropolymer core composition; and a light reflecting cladding composition on the pattern of the core. Writing of high-efficiency waveguide gratings is also disclosed.

Abstract: A photosensitive lithographic printing plate having a photosensitive resin layer formed on an aluminum substrate subjected to electrolytic surface roughening in nitric acid or in an electrolyte composed mainly of nitric acid and further to anodic oxidation treatment, wherein the photosensitive resin layer is made of a photopolymerizable composition comprising (A) an addition-polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated bond-containing monomer, (B) a photopolymerization initiator, and (C) a polymer binder, wherein the addition-polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated bond-containing monomer (A) contains a phosphate compound having at least one (meth)acryloyl group.

Abstract: The present invention provides photoresist monomers, and photoresist polymers comprising the same. In one aspect of the present invention, the photoresist monomer of the present invention is dipropargyl malonic acid cyclic isopropylidene ester of the formula: Photoresist compositions comprising the photoresist polymers of the present invention have superior 157 nm wavelength transmittance, etching resistance, heat resistance and adhesiveness. In addition, photoresist compositions of the present invention can be developed easily in 2.38 wt % aqueous TMAH solution, and therefore are suitable for lithography processes using a 157 nm wavelength-light source for fabricating a minute circuit of a high integration semiconductor device.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a compound that is useful as an additive for improving post exposure delay stability in a photoresist composition, and a photoresist composition containing the same. In particular, it has been found that a compound of the formula: where A, R1 to R3 are defined herein, can efficiently prevent or reduce the phenomenon of a lack of pattern formation and T-topping resulting from post exposure delay (PED) by reducing influences of environmental amine compounds. PED is a disadvantage of alicyclic compounds used in the lithography process using light sources such as KrF, ArF, VUV, E-beam, ion beam and EUV.

Abstract: A process for making an element for forming a final image with an overall attribute by exposure to actinic radiation, the process comprising: providing a support element having a surface; applying a first layer having a first surface and a second surface to the surface of the support element, the first surface of the first layer being adjacent to the surface of the support element and the second surface of the first layer being opposite the first surface; applying, prior to image-wise exposure to actinic radiation, a second layer adjacent to the second surface of the first layer, the second layer having an inner surface and an outer surface, the first layer comprising a photosensitive composition and a feature which imparts a dominant attribute to the first layer, the feature being selected from the group consisting of a fluorescent feature, a metallic feature, an opacity enriching feature or a combination of at least two of the foregoing features, the second layer comprising a first colorant; wherein the

Abstract: A chemically amplified positive resist includes at least both a polyhydroxystyrene resin having a protective base which varies in polarity by an acid catalyst and a photoacid generator, wherein the chemically amplified positive resist is admixed with at least a styrene derivative.

Abstract: A polymer comprising recurring units of formula (1) and having a Mw of 1,000-500,000 is provided. R1 is H, methyl or CH2CO2R3, R2 is H, methyl or CO2R3, R3 is alkyl, R4 is H, alkyl, alkoxyalkyl or acyl, R5 and R15 are acid labile groups, and at least one of R6 to R9 is a carboxyl or hydroxyl-containing monovalent hydrocarbon group, and the remainders are H or alkyl, at least one of R10 to R13 is a monovalent hydrocarbon group containing a —CO2— partial structure, and the remainders are H or alkyl, R14 is a polycyclic hydrocarbon group or polycyclic hydrocarbon-containing alkyl group, Z is a trivalent hydrocarbon group, X is —CH2— or —O—, k=0 or 1, x is>0, a, b, c and d are≧0, satisfying x+a+b+c+d=1. A resist composition comprising the polymer has significantly improved sensitivity, resolution and etching resistance and is very useful in microfabrication.

Abstract: The present invention also includes an imageable element, comprising a substrate and a thermally imageable composition comprising a thermally sensitive polymer which exhibits an increased solubility in an aqueous developer solution upon heating. The thermally sensitive polymer includes at least one covalently bonded unit and at least one thermally reversible non-covalently bonded unit, which includes a two or more centered H-bond within each of the non-covalently bonded unit. The present invention also includes a method of producing the imaged element. The present invention still further includes a thermally imageable composition comprising comprising a thermally sensitive polymer according to the present invention and a process for preparing the thermally sensitive polymer, which is a supramolecular polymer.

Abstract: Disclosed is a positive working photoresist composition comprising an acid-decomposable polymer containing at least a repeating unit represented by the following formula (I) and at least either one repeating unit represented by the following formula (IIa) or (IIb), and also disclosed is a positive working photoresist composition comprising (A) a compound capable of generating an acid upon irradiation with actinic rays or radiation, (B) an acid-decomposable polymer containing at least a repeating unit represented by the following formula (I) and at least either one repeating unit represented by the following formula (IIa) or (IIb), (C) at least one solvent capable of dissolving the components (A) and (B), (D) an organic basic compound and (E) at least one surfactant selected from fluorine-containing surfactants, silicon-containing surfactants and nonionic surfactants:

Abstract: A photosensitive polymer having a main chain consisting of only norbornene-type alicyclic units, a resist composition containing the photosensitive polymer and a preparation method thereof, wherein the photosensitive polymer is represented by the following formula: wherein R1 is an acid-labile tertiary alkyl group, R2 is &ggr;-butyrolactone-2-yl, &ggr;-butyrolactone-3-yl, pantolactone-2-yl, mevalonic lactone, 3-tetrahydrofuranyl, 2,3-propylenecarbonate-1-yl or 3-methyl-&ggr;-butyrolactone-3-yl, R3 is a hydrogen atom, methyl, ethyl or C3 to C20 alicyclic hydrocarbon, and p/(p+q+r) is 0.1˜0.8, q/(p+q+r) is 0.2˜0.8, and r/(p+q+r) is 0.0˜0.4. To prepare the photosensitive polymer, at least two different norbornene-type compounds having an ester group as a substituent are reacted in the presence of an initiator at a temperature of about 120 to about 150 ° C. without a reaction catalyst.

Abstract: A planographic printing plate and a manufacturing method thereof are provided in which a deterioration in quality and performance of the planographic printing plate due to coating defects caused by foreign matter adhering to a support can be prevented. The planographic printing plate has stable quality such as uniform sensitivity with respect to writing by an infrared ray laser or the like and uniform developability. The planographic printing plate includes a support, a primer layer, and a recording layer superposed in that order. In the manufacturing method, a step of forming the primer layer, in which a coating solution for a primer layer is applied onto the support, is carried out at least two times. At this time, before a coating solution for a previous primer layer has completely dried, a coating solution for a subsequent primer layer is applied. This type of application is preferable in terms of coating uniformity and prevention of an increase in coating thickness.

Abstract: A polymer comprising units of formulas (1) and (2) and having a Mw of 1,000-500,000 is provided. R1 is H, CH3 or CH2CO2R3, R2 is H, CH3 or CO2R3, R3 is alkyl, R4 is H, alkyl, alkoxyalkyl or acyl, R5 is alkyl or aryl, Y is a divalent hydrocarbon group which may contain a hetero atom and which forms a ring with the carbon atom, Z is a trivalent hydrocarbon group, k is 0 or 1, and W is —O— or —(NR)— wherein R is H or alkyl. A resist composition comprising the polymer as a base resin is sensitive to high-energy radiation, has excellent sensitivity, resolution, and etching resistance, and lends itself to micropatterning with electron beams or deep-UV rays.

Abstract: A polymer bearing specific cyclic silicon-containing groups is novel. A resist composition comprising the polymer as a base resin is sensitive to high-energy radiation and has excellent sensitivity and resolution at a wavelength of less than 300 nm, and high resistance to oxygen plasma etching. The resist composition lends itself to micropatterning for the fabrication of VLSIs.

Abstract: Polyimide is produced by reacting two kinds of diamine compounds consisting of diaminopolysiloxane and a carboxyl group-containing diamine or three kinds of diamine compounds consisting of diaminopolysiloxane, a carboxyl group-containing diamine and an aromatic or alicyclic diamine with a dicarboxylic acid anhydride having a 2,5-dioxotetrahydrofuryl group as one acid anhydride group, thereby once forming a polyamic acid, and subjecting the polyamic acid to polyimidization reaction. The resulting polyimide itself is soluble in low boiling organic solvents for, general purpose use, typically methyl ethyl ketone. A photosensitive composition comprising the polyimide, a photo crosslinking agent and a photo acid-generating agent forms a negative type polyimide pattern upon development with an aqueous alkali solution.

Abstract: A method for producing a lithographic printing plate which comprises imagewise irradiating a lithographic printing plate precursor with a laser beam to make the irradiated part hydrophilic, wherein the lithographic printing plate precursor comprises a metal compound selected from at least one metal element belonging to Group 4 to Group 6 of the Periodic Table and an oleophilic layer provided on the surface thereof.

Abstract: There is provided a photosensitive resin having at least three moieties in the backbone chain, two moieties of which moieties are an alicyclic group moiety and a sulfonyl moiety. The photosensitive resin has a superior solubility in solvents and a superior dry-etching resistance, and enables easy fabrication of highly integrated semiconductor devices.

Abstract: A self-contained photohardenable imaging assembly comprising in order: a first transparent support; an imaging layer comprising a developer material and a plurality of photohardenable microcapsules encapsulating a color precursor, and a second support, wherein at least one support comprises a barrier layer that exhibits a low water vapor transmission rate. The imaging assembly has been found to provide better image quality and more consistence sensitometric response to pressure development.

Abstract: Polymers comprising fluorinated vinyl alcohol units and having acid labile groups partially introduced are novel. Using such polymers, resist compositions featuring transparency to excimer laser light and alkali solubility are obtained.