Relationship between Tg of Polyimide Resin and Resist Sensitivity in Three-Component Chemically Amplified Polyimide Resist

Abstract

In this paper, we have explained a relationship between the resist sensitivity and Tg of the base polymers in three-component chemically amplified polyimide resists. Three-component chemically amplified resists consist of a base polymer, a photoacid generator (PAG), and a dissolution inhibitor that is deprotected by acid. Three polyimide resins with different Tg or the novolac resin were used as the base polymer. The polyimide resist had lower resist sensitivity than the novolac resist. The UV light absorption of the base polymers hardly inhibited the photoreaction of PAG. The higher the Tg of the base polymer, the more the deprotection reaction and acid diffusion in the resist films were promoted. From these results, a negative correlation between the Tg of the base polymer and the resist sensitivity was discovered.