Dissolution Mechanism of Phenolic Resists

The mechanism of the phenolic polymer resist dissolution has been a hotly contested and debated concept. Many models have been proposed for how this process plays out. Although all of these models have been successful in explaining different aspects, but not the complete mechanism of novolac dissolution behavior, there is now some consensus on some key general facts surrounding this mechanism. These facts are outlined below. 

Reiser, Molecular mechanism of positive novolac resists, Proc. SPIE 1086, 74 (1989) H. Shih, T. Yeu, A. Reiser, Percolation view of novolak dissolution 3. dis solution inhibition, Proc. SPIE 2195, 514 (1994) B.W. Smith, Resist processing, in Microlitho graphy Science and Technology, p. 546, Marcel Dekker (1998). 

Thackeray et al., Deep UV ANR photoresists for 248 nm excimer laser photolithography, Proc. SPIE 1086, 34 (1989). 

Kasama, Dissolution kinetics of chemically amplified resists, Proc. SPIE 1925, 388 (1993). i ibid. 

16 General Facts about the Dissolution Mechanism of DNQ/Novolac Resists 

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