Study of the structure-properties relationship of phenolic molecular glass resists for next generation photolithography

In this paper, we report the synthesis and characterization of a family of phenolic molecular glasses with variable size and branch architecture. This research is aimed at providing an improved understanding of the relationship between the structural variations of these phenolic photoresist materials and their thermal properties. In particular, the effects of the molecular weight, intermolecular hydrogen bonding, and structural effects on the glass transition temperature are studied in detail to gain a better understanding of their glass forming behavior. A fundamental understanding of such behavior is invaluable to the development of potential molecular photoresists for next generation lithography. Finally, these compounds are evaluated as positive-tone photoresists for lithographic applications for extreme UV (lambda = 13.4 nm) lithography.