Organic materials as planarizing layers

Evaluation of Several Organic Materials as Planarizing Layers for lithographic and Etchback Processing... 

Poly(dimethyl glutarimide) (PMGI) (structure 3.7) was shown by Hir-aoka (63) to undergo molecular weight reduction upon irradiation with a sensitivity comparable to PMMA. This polymer is sensitive to DUV radiation below 280 nm soluble in aqueous base resistant to common organic solvents and thermally stable to ca. 185 C, which renders the material very attractive as a thick planarizing layer in the exposure-PCM scheme as will be discussed in a later section. This material is being evaluated for commercialization by Shipley Company (64, 65). 

Superconductivity has also been discovered in rather exotic materials, including the following Buckminsterfullerene (Cgo) doped with ICI Carbon nanotubes (superconductivity in just one direction) Nickel borocarbides, which contain Ni2 B2 layers alternating with R C sheets, where R is a rare earth element such as Er and organic superconductors that contain planar organic cations and oxoanions. Chemists and physicists continue to study these and other families of superconductors. 

Square-planar ds platinum complexes could perhaps be used as the chemically sensitive layer for a chemical sensor system. These complexes are robust and form colored solid-state materials that respond spectroscopically to a wide range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) this process has been named vapochromism. The vapochromic shifts occur in the solid-state UV-vis,... 

Thin-layer chromatography (TLC), sometimes also called planar chromatography, employ a stationary phase immobilized on a glass or plastic plate and an organic mobile phase. It is a rather old technique whose application in residue analysis has been limited in the past by poor chromatographic resolution, inadequate selectivity, and insufficient sensitivity (49). This was due to inherent problems in the quality of the available stationary phase materials and in the uniformity of the layers prepared. Today, the availability of affordable, precoated plates with acceptable performance and consistency has led to the general acceptance of TLC as an efficient procedure for residue analysis (50). The method is used preferentially when analysts must process large numbers of samples in a short period of time (51). 

Trilevel Schemes. Trilevel processing (6, 7) requires planarization of device topography with a thick layer of an organic polymer, such as polyimide or a positive photoresist that has been baked at elevated temperatures ( hard baked ) or otherwise treated to render it insoluble in most organic solvents. An intermediate RIE barrier, such as a silicon dioxide, is deposited, and finally, this structure is coated with the desired resist material. A pattern is delineated in the top resist layer and subsequently transferred to the substrate by dry-etching techniques (Figure 3). 

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