Analysis of dissolution kinetics of narrow polydispersity poly(4-hydroxystyrene) in alkaline aqueous solution using machine learning. (28th May 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tanaka, Naoki; Watanabe, Kyoko; Matsuoka, Kyoko; Azumagawa, Kazuki; Kozawa, Takahiro; Ikeda, Takuya; Komuro, Yoshitaka; Kawana, Daisuke
• Is Part Of: Japanese journal of applied physics. Volume 60:Number 6(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-05-28
• Subjects: EUV lithography -- chemically amplified resist -- development -- rinsing -- machine learning -- swelling; Physics -- Periodicals; 621.05
• DOI: 10.35848/1347-4065/ac016d
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-4922

Abstract

Abstract: Understanding the dissolution kinetics of resist materials is essential for their efficient development. In this study, we investigated the dissolution kinetics of poly(4-hydroxystyrene) (PHS) with a weight-average molecular weight ( M w ) of 8000–30 000 and a polydispersity index ( M w /M n ) of 1.07–1.20. The dissolution kinetics of PHS films was observed in tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) aqueous developers by a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) method. The TMAH concentration was changed from 0 to 2.38 wt%. The formation of a thick transient swelling layer at these M w /M n values was suppressed compared with that at M w /M n > 2. QCM data were analyzed using the polynomial regression to clarify the effects of M w and M w /M n on the dissolution kinetics in a narrow polydispersity region. Both dissolving and swelling kinetics largely depended on M w / M n . M w had little effect in 2.38 wt% TMAH developer; however, it had a large effect on the swelling when 2.38 wt% TMAH developer was diluted.