Method of making radiation-sensitive sol-gel materials

摘要

Radiation-sensitive sol-gel compositions are provided, along with methods of forming microelectronic structures and the structures thus formed. The compositions comprise a sol-gel compound and a base generator dispersed or dissolved in a solvent system. The sol-gel compound comprises recurring monomeric units comprising silicon with crosslinkable moieties bonded to the silicon. Upon exposure to radiation, the base generator generates a strong base, which crosslinks the sol-gel compound in the compositions to yield a crosslinked layer that is insoluble in developers or solvents. The unexposed portions of the layer can be removed to yield a patterned sol-gel layer. The invention can be used to form patterns from sol-gel materials comprising features having feature sizes of less than about 1 μm.

主权项

1. A method of forming a microelectronic structure, said method comprising:
providing a substrate having a surface; optionally forming an intermediate layer on said surface; forming a layer of sol-gel composition adjacent said intermediate layer, if present, or adjacent said substrate surface if no intermediate layers are present, said sol-gel composition comprising a sol-gel compound and a base generator dissolved or dispersed in a solvent system; exposing said sol-gel layer to radiation to yield exposed and unexposed portions of said sol-gel layer; and contacting said sol-gel layer with a solvent or aqueous alkaline developer so as to remove said unexposed portions and yield a patterned sol-gel layer, said patterned sol-gel layer comprising a pattern, said pattern comprising features having a feature size of less than about 1 μm.