Novel design of carbon-rich polymers for 193 nm microlithography: Adamantane-containing cyclopolymers

Rapid advances in the miniaturization of microelectronic devices require the development of new imageable polymeric materials for 193 nm microlithography. The design and synthesis of carbon-rich cyclopolymers incorporating both tert-butyl esters as imageable functionalities for chemical amplification and adamantane moieties for etch resistance. The cyclopolymerization route is advantageous as the final products that incorporate spiro linkages and hydrocarbon cages within the polymer backbone should exhibit good etch resistance while maintaining appropriate film forming properties.