Abstract: Disclosed is a chemically amplified radiation sensitive composition containing a hydroxystyrene resin and an onium salt precursor which generates a fluorinated alkanesulfonic acid as a photoacid generator, wherein the photoacid generator is a sulfonium or iodonium salt of a fluorinated alkane sulfonic acid, represented by formula (I): Y+ASO3−  (I) wherein A represents CF3CHFCF2 or CF3CF2CF2CF2; and Y represents wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 each independently represent an alkyl group, a monocyclic or bicyclic alkyl group, a cyclic alkylcarbonyl group, a phenyl group, a naphthyl group, an anthryl group, a peryl group, a pyryl group, a thienyl group, an aralkyl group, or an arylcarbonylmethylene group, or any two of R1, R2, and R3 or R4 and R5 together represent an alkylene or an oxyalkylene which forms a five- or six-membered ring together with the interposing sulfur or iodine, said ring being optionally condensed with aryl groups.

Abstract: A chemically amplified resist composition is disclosed which shows a high sensitivity, high resolution, excellent processing adaptability and excellent processing stability, which can form good pattern profile and which is suited as a finely processable material for use in manufacturing integrated circuit elements or the like. The chemically amplified resist composition comprises at least (a) an organic material containing a substituent or substituents capable of being released in the presence of an acid and (b) compounds capable of generating an acid upon exposure to radiation (acid-generators), composed of at least one onium salt and at least one of sulfone compounds and sulfonate compounds. This chemically amplified resist composition preferably further contains a basic compound.

Abstract: A resist composition is prepared by reacting an alkali-soluble polymer having a phenolic hydroxyl or carboxyl groups with a vinyl ether compound in an aprotic solvent, such as propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, in the presence of an acid catalyst, suspending the reaction by the addition of a base, and directly adding a photoacid generator to the reaction solution. When a dialkyl dicarbonate is used in stead of the vinyl ether compound, a resist composition is prepared by carrying out the reaction in the presence of a basic catalyst and adding a photoacid generator directly to the reaction. Thus resist compositions can be prepared without isolating or purifying an alkali-soluble polymer which has been substituted by a catalytic reaction.

Abstract: A resist composition is prepared by reacting an alkali-soluble polymer having a phenolic hydroxyl or carboxyl groups with a vinyl ether compound in an aprotic solvent, such as propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, in the presence of an acid catalyst, suspending the reaction by the addition of a base, and directly adding a photoacid generator to the reaction solution. When a dialkyl dicarbonate is used in stead of the vinyl ether compound, a resist composition is prepared by carrying out the reaction in the presence of a basic catalyst and adding a photoacid generator directly to the reaction. Thus resist compositions can be prepared without isolating or purifying an alkali-soluble polymer which has been substituted by a catalytic reaction.

Abstract: A printing apparatus, a control method therefor, and a medium on which the control method is stored, enable selection of a resume operation to be performed when the printing apparatus resumes operation following an off-line state. The resume operation to be performed after an off-line state is determined by a command received from a host device according to the cause for the off-line state. The resume operation thus determined is performed when the printing apparatus goes on-line again following the off-line state. A marker indicating a particular location in a continuous data stream can be set. If the marker is placed at the beginning of a particular data stream, printing can be resumed from the beginning of the data stream after recovery from an off-line state. By also storing various printer definitions (settings) when a marker is set, the printing apparatus can also be restored to the printer definitions in use when the printer went off-line.

Abstract: Acid-labile group protected hydroxystyrene polymers having recurrent pendant groups such as 1-(2-methanecarbonyl oxyethoxy)ethoxy group and 1-(2-N-methylcarbamatoethoxy) ethoxy group. A resist containing the polymer, a photo acid generator, a base, additives and a solvent is sensitive to UV, electron beam and X-ray. In the resist, acid is formed in the exposed area during irradiation, which deprotects acid-labile group catalytically during application of post-exposure baking. Positive patterns are formed after development using an alkaline solution.

Abstract: A radiation-sensitive composition is disclosed which includes (a) a binder insoluble in water but soluble in or capable of being swelled in an aqueous alkali solution, (b) a dissolution inhibitor composed of (b1) a poly(N,O-acetal) having a general formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.3 is alkyl or substituted or unsubstituted aryl, R.sup.4 is a divalent group selected from alkylene, cycloalkylene, alkene or alkyne, R.sup.5 is alkyl, alkene, alkyne or cycloalkyl, X is --OCO--, --CO-- or --NHCO--, and p is a number not less than 1, and/or (b2) a phenol compound having a hydroxyl group which is protected by a group which can be cleaved in the presence of an acid, (c) a photosensitive compound capable of generating an acid when exposed to an active radiation, (d) a base capable of being decomposed when exposed to an active radiation to form a neutral compound derived therefrom, (e) a plasticizer, and (f) a solvent.

Abstract: A process for producing a solution of a basic or non-basic sulfonium compound (A) of formulae II-V: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.5, R.sup.6 and R.sup.7 each independently represent a C.sub.1 -C.sub.18 alkyl, aryl or heteroaryl group or an aryl group mono-, di- or tri-substituted with an alkyl, an alkylaryl, an aryl, a halogen, an alkoxy, a phenoxy, a thiophenol, a phenylsulfonyl or a phenylsulphenyl;Y represents (CH.sub.2).sub.n (wherein n is 0 or 1), O or S;R.sup.8 and R.sup.9 represent a C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, alkoxy or a halogen;R.sup.10 and R.sup.11 represent a C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, alkoxy or a halogen;n is 5 or 6; andX.sub.2.sup.- represents a basic anion having a pK.sub.B value of -3 to +5; comprising the steps of:(a) dissolving a sulfonium salt (B) in a metal-ion free polar or non-polar solvent to form a solution, said sulfonium salt (B) being selected from said formulae II-V, wherein R.sup.5 to R.sup.11, Y and n of said sulfonium salt (B) have the sane meaning as above and X.sub.2.sup.

Abstract: A radiation-sensitive composition is disclosed which includes:(a) a copolymer represented by the general formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, R.sup.2 is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group, Ar is a substituted or unsubstituted phenylene group or a substituted or unsubstituted cyclohexylene group, X is a divalent group represented by --SO.sub.2 -- or --CO--, m and n are individually an integer not less than 1;(b) a dissolution inhibitor composed of a compound represented by the general formula: ##STR2## wherein R.sup.3 is an alkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group, R.sup.4 is an alkylene group, a cycloalkylene group, an alkenylene group or an alkynylene group, R.sup.

Abstract: A chemically amplified resist material comprising: a) a homopolymer or a copolymer of hydroxystyrene or hydroxystyrene partly protected by a group sensitive to an acid such as a tetrahydropyranyl or t-butoxycarbonyl group, b) a dissolution inhibitor such as poly(N,O-acetal) or phenol or bisphenol protected by a group cleavable with an acid, c) a photosensitive compound capable of generating an acid upon exposure, d) a base capable of degrading upon radiation to regulate the line width in a period between the exposure step and the processing steps after exposure, e) a low-molecular weight phenolic or polyphenolic compound having a structure represented by the following general formula or a mixture of the phenolic or polyphenolic compounds: ##STR1## where n is an integer of 1 to 5, m is an integer of 0 to 4, n+m.ltoreq.5, and p is an integer of 1 to 10, each R is a C.sub.1 -C.sub.12 alkyl group or an unsubstituted or substituted cycloalkyl group or a C.sub.1 -C.sub.

Abstract: A material for the formation of a pattern is provided which has a wide exposure latitude and is less liable to cause a dimensional change of a pattern with a change in exposure. The material comprises (A) a compound having a capability of producing an acid upon irradiation with an active beam, (B) a compound capable of producing a base or increasing its basicity, (C) a compound having at least one bond clearable with an acid and/or (D) a compound insoluble in water but soluble in an aqueous alkaline solution.

Abstract: A radiation-sensitive mixture for use in the production of semiconductor elements, which has high sensitivity and high resolution, which can be developed by an aqueous alkaline solution, and which is based on a novel concept in that a stable acid latent image is controlled by using a radiation-decomposable base.The mixture is characterized by comprising as essential components a) a binder which is insoluble in water but soluble in an aqueous alkaline solution; b.sup.1) a compound having at least one bond which can be cleaved by an acid, or b.sup.2) a compound having at least one bond which is crosslinked with the compound a) by an acid; c) a compound which generates an acid when irradiated; and d) a basic iodonium compound.

Abstract: A colored, photosensitive resin composition of a pigment dispersing-type is disclosed.The colored, photosensitive resin composition is characterized by containing (a) a polymer having alcohlic or phenolic hydroxyl groups, (b) a compound capable of producing a nitrene when irradiated with an actinic radiation, (c) a pigment, and (d) a solvent. Preferably, the composition further contains (e) a heat crosslinking agent and/or (f) a compound having a polymerizable double bond in addition to the above ingredients.According to the present invention, the production of a color filter need not be performed in an inert gas atmosphere, does not require an oxygen barrier film and does not require heating during the period of from the exposure step to the development step. Thus, the use of the composition permits the color filter production steps to be made significantly simple so that the composition provides a great value in industrial utilization.

Abstract: A chemically amplified radiation sensitive composition comprising: (a) a copolymer such as poly(4-hydroxystyrene-co-styrene), (b) a dissolution inhibitor such as polyacetal or (b') a crosslinking agent, (c) a radiation sensitive compound capable of generating an acid upon exposure to actinic radiation, (d) a radiation sensitive base capable of stabilizing the width of lines throughout steps from exposure to post-exposure bake treatment, and (e) a solvent for dissolving the components (a) to (d), can realize fine lines and spaces down to 0.22 microns, for example, using KrF laser, and possesses excellent heat and etch resistance and adhesiveness to substrates, and produces patterns with low standing waves arising due to substrate reflectiveness of exposed light.

Abstract: A novel positive-working radiation-sensitive mixture having a high sensitivity to radiation in a short-wavelength UV region is provided which can be developed in an aqueous alkaline solution, has a stable acid latent image and is used for the production of a semiconductor. The mixture comprises, as indispensable components, a) a binder insoluble in water but soluble in an aqueous alkaline solution, b) a compound having at least one bond cleavable with an acid, c) a compound capable of producing an acid upon radiation, and d.sub.1) a basic ammonium compound or d.sub.2) a basic sulfonium compound.

Abstract: An automobile seat assembly includes a seat cushion subassembly and a seat back subassembly coupled with the seat cushion subassembly to represent a generally L-shaped configuration. A holding device is installed in the seat cushion subassembly and is deformable in response to the sitting of a seat occupant on a sitting area of the seat cushion subassembly and holds the sitting area in a deformed shape resulting from the seat occupant sitting on the sitting area. An actuating device installed in the seat cushion subassembly actuates the holding device. A detecting device detects the actual sitting position of the seat occupant on the sitting area. A control device is operable to operate the actuating device a predetermined time after the detecting device has detected the actual sitting position of the seat occupant on the sitting area.

Abstract: A method of logic simulation for simulating operation of a logic circuit by using basic signal values corresponding to states of output signals of elements of the logic circuit to be simulated and expanded signal values including the basic signal values. The logic circuit to be simulated is divided into a portion to be simulated by using the basic signal values and the expanded signal values and a portion to be simulated by using the basic signal values without using the expanded signal values. The elements for which definition of calculation method for output signal values for the input signal values including the expanded signal values is not easy are included in the latter portion, and other elements are included in the former portion.

Abstract: A vector processor has a discriminator for determining in one machine cycle of an operation unit whether a bit pattern of elements of vector data meets a predetermined condition or not. An output of a register having a predetermined value loaded only into bits to be extracted from the vector data and each of the elements of the vector data are ANDed or ORed so that the bit pattern is determined. The operation and determination are sequentially carried out in one machine cycle.

Abstract: A computer implemented logic simulation method, for inspecting logical operations of large scale logic circuits, computes a variation of an output of at least one latch in a clock synchronized logic circuit. The clock-synchronized logic circuit contains a combination logic circuit and a plurality of logic gates. Each of the logic gates have at least one input signal and several other inputs connected to clocking signal sources of different phases. The latch is activated by the rise or fall of the clock signals for holding the output from the combination logic circuit. The method thus implements sampling instants of the output for ascertaining the logical operations of the large scale circuits.

Abstract: In response to the execution of a single loading instruction, the front half and the rear half of a designated vector may be stored in respective vector registers in a single processor operation. For this purpose, a data distribution circuit is interposed between a group of vector registers and a vector data storage for feeding the vector data read out from the storage to a first vector processor designated by an instruction without shifting and for shifting the respective components of the read-out vector data and feeding the shifted components to a second vector register designated by the instruction.