Development and Application of Microelectronic Photoresist

Photoresist is the indispensable and key material used for fabricating large-scale and super-large-scale integrated circuits in microelectronic industry . Due to its strategic role in the construction of national economy and national defense , photoresist has aroused great attention of researchers. Since the birth of the first integrated circuit board in 1959 , photoresist has gradually evolved from the resists used for traditional ultraviolet ( UV ) photolithography , including early polyvinyl cinnamate , cyclized rubber / azide system , near-UV ( 436-nm G -line and 365-nm I-line ) novolac / diazonaphthoquinone photoresists , deep-UV ( DUV , 248-nm and 193-nm ) and vacuum -UV ( 157-nm ) photoresists , to the resists used for the so -called next generation lithography ( NGL ) , such as extreme-UV lithography ( EUVL ) , electron-beam lithography ( EBL ) , nanoimprint lithography ( NIL ) , block copolymer lithography ( BCL ) , and scanning probe lithography ( SPL ) . In this review , the above evolution of photoresist and its research progress are summarized based on a large amount of literature. Thereinto , DUV chemically amplified photoresists are focused , including matrix resins , photoacid generators , and additives ( for example , dissolution inhibitors and basic compounds ) . In addition , the recent research achievements of the resists for EUVL , EBL , NIL , BCL , and SPL are also highlighted. Finally , the prospect and research directions of photoresist in the future are briefly discussed.