Pattern Profile Improvement of Negative Chemical Amplification Resist by Acid Trap Reagent Soaking for KrF Excimer Laser Lithography

We present a novel pattern profile improvement method for chemically amplified negative photoresist. Based on the mechanism of chemical amplification systems, direct amending of the "acid latent image" prior to post exposure baking can bring drastic pattern profile improvement by using acid trap reagent soaking on the resist surface. We concluded that the acid trapping method combined with highly absorbant chemically amplified resist is one of the promising ways in KrF excimer lithography.