US 11,694,896 B2
Photoresist developer and method of developing photoresist
Ming-Hui Weng, New Taipei (TW); An-Ren Zi, Hsinchu (TW); Ching-Yu Chang, Yuansun Village (TW); and Chen-Yu Liu, Kaohsiung (TW)
Assigned to TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD., Hsinchu (TW)
Filed by TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD., Hsinchu (TW)
Filed on Sep. 11, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/19,094.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/928,952, filed on Oct. 31, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0134589 A1, May 6, 2021
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. H01L 21/027 (2006.01); G03F 7/00 (2006.01); G03F 7/11 (2006.01)
CPC H01L 21/0271 (2013.01) [G03F 7/0025 (2013.01); G03F 7/11 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of forming a pattern in a photoresist, comprising:
forming a photoresist layer over a substrate;
selectively exposing the photoresist layer to actinic radiation to form a latent pattern; and
developing the latent pattern by applying a developer composition to the selectively exposed photoresist layer to form a pattern,
wherein the developer composition comprises:
a first solvent having Hansen solubility parameters of 15<δd<25, 10<δp<25, and 6<δh<30;
an acid having an acid dissociation constant, pKa, of −15<pKa<5, or a base having a pKa of 40>pKa>9.5; and
a second solvent having a dielectric constant greater than 18, and
wherein the first solvent and the second solvent are different solvents.
 
10. A method, comprising:
forming a resist layer over a substrate;
patternwise crosslinking the resist layer to form a latent pattern in the resist layer including a crosslinked portion and an uncrosslinked portion of the resist layer; and
developing the latent pattern by applying a developer composition to remove the uncrosslinked portion of the resist layer to form a pattern of the crosslinked portion of the resist layer,
wherein the developer composition comprises:
a first solvent having Hansen solubility parameters of 15<δd<25, 10<δp<25, and 6<δh<30;
an acid having an acid dissociation constant, pKa, of −15<pKa<5, or a base having a pKa of 40>pKa>9.5; and
a second solvent having a dielectric constant greater than 18, and
wherein the first solvent and second solvent are different solvents.
 
16. A photoresist developer composition, comprising:
a first solvent having Hansen solubility parameters of 15<δd<25, 10<δp<25, and 6<δh<30;
an acid having an acid dissociation constant, pKa, of −15<pKa<5, or a base having a pKa of 40>pKa>9.5; and
a second solvent having a dielectric constant greater than 18,
wherein the first solvent and the second solvent are different solvents.