Lithography techniques include processes in which, for example, a resist film formed from a resist material is formed on top of a substrate, the resist film is selectively exposed with irradiation such as light, an electron beam or the like through a mask in which a predetermined pattern has been formed, and then a developing treatment is conducted, thereby forming a resist pattern of the prescribed shape in the resist film. Resist materials in which the exposed portions change to become soluble in a developing liquid are termed positive materials, whereas resist materials in which the exposed portions change to become insoluble in the developing liquid are termed negative materials.
In recent years, in the production of semiconductor elements and liquid crystal display elements, advances in lithography techniques have led to rapid progress in the field of miniaturization.
Typically, these miniaturization techniques involve shortening the wavelength of the exposure light source. Conventionally, ultraviolet radiation typified by g-line and i-line radiation has been used, but nowadays KrF excimer lasers and ArF excimer lasers are starting to be introduced in mass production of semiconductor elements. Furthermore, research is also being conducted into lithography techniques that use F2 excimer lasers, electron beams (EB), extreme ultraviolet radiation (EUV) and X-rays.
Resist materials are required to have lithography properties such as high sensitivity to the aforementioned light source and enough resolution to reproduce patterns with very fine dimensions. As resist materials which fulfill the aforementioned requirements, there is used a chemically-amplified resist containing a base resin that displays changed alkali solubility under action of acid, and an acid generator that generates acid upon exposure. For example, a chemically-amplified positive resist includes a resin in which the alkali solubility increases under action of an acid as a base resin and an acid generator, and when an acid is generated from the acid generator upon exposure in the formation of a resist pattern, the exposed portions are converted to a soluble state in an alkali developing solution.
Until recently, polyhydroxystyrene (PHS) or derivative resins (PHS-based resins) in which the hydroxyl groups have been protected with acid dissociable, dissolution inhibiting groups, which exhibit a high degree of transparency relative to KrF excimer laser (248 nm), have been used as the base resin of chemically-amplified resists. However, because PHS-based resins contain aromatic rings such as benzene rings, their transparency is inadequate for light with a wavelength shorter than 248 nm, such as light of 193 nm. Accordingly, chemically-amplified resists that use a PHS-based resin as the base resin have a disadvantage in that they have low resolution in processes that use, for example, light of 193 nm.
As a result, resins (acrylic resins) that contain structural units derived from (meth)acrylate esters within the main chain are now widely used as base resins for resists in ArF excimer laser lithography and the like, as they exhibit excellent transparency in the vicinity of 193 nm (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Here, the term “(meth)acrylate ester” is a generic term that includes either or both of the acrylate ester having a hydrogen atom bonded with the α-position and the methacrylate ester having a methyl group bonded with the α-position. The term “(meth)acrylate” is a generic term that includes either or both of the acrylate having a hydrogen atom bonded with the α-position and the methacrylate having a methyl group bonded with the α-position. The term “(meth)acrylic acid” is a generic term that includes either or both of the acrylic acid having a hydrogen atom bonded with the α-position and the methacrylic acid having a methyl group bonded with the α-position.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2003-241385.