Polysilane microlithographic applications

Other polymers containing Si in the main chain are the polysilanes. The discovery that polysilane derivatives were radiation sensitive(20), coupled with their stability in an oxygen plasma, has led to a number of microlithographic applications(14, 21-24). For the... 

Polysilanes. Following the first reports of soluble and processable polysilanes in the late 1970s, these macromolecules have attracted substantial interest from both fundamental and applied perspectives." The backbone of silicon atoms gives rise to unique electronic and optical properties as a result of the delocalisation of a-electrons. Several polysilanes have also been found to function as useful thermal precursors to silicon carbide fibres and these materials have also attracted attention with respect to microlithographic applications and as polymerisation initiators." ... 

Because of their desirable properties and radiation sensitivity, polysilanes have been used in a variety of microlithographic applications as (1) mid-UV contrast-enhancing materials, (2) imaging layers in a variety of bilayer lithographic processes, and (3) new resist materials for ionizing radiation. 

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