2009 Volume 22 Issue 3 Pages 329-334
In recent years we have seen growing numbers of cases in which outgassing generated by resists during ArF exposure gives problems such as fogging of exposure equipment lenses. Scanner manufacturers have reportedly begun taking countermeasures, for example, by establishing outgassing criteria. In the near future, resist manufacturers will likely be required to attach information on outgassing to their products at the time of shipment.
Previously, we examined various methods for evaluating the outgassing generated by KrF resists during KrF (248 nm) exposure. This paper describes our study of methods for evaluating outgassing generated by ArF chemically-amplified resists during ArF exposure based on the outgassing analysis techniques currently available. Roughly speaking, analysis items for outgassing can be divided into two categories: ionic substances (anions) derived from PAG and volatile organic carbon (VOC) derived from protective groups. Ion chromatography (IC) is used for the former, gas chromatography (GC) for the latter.
