Hydrophobic Surface Construction by Phase-Separation of Fluorinated Block Copolymer for Immersion Lithography

Newly designed topcoat-less resist for immersion lithography is described. Hydrophobic resist surface layer was constructed successfully in order to solve problems regarding immersion resist and improve lithographic performance. Fluorinated diblock copolymer synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) showed self-assembly surface segregation in resist films. In spite of low fluorine composition, hydrophobicity of the resist surface was remarkably enhanced. Newly designed topcoat-less resist is expected to be utilized in immersion lithography.