Chemical Mechanisms of Metal-Based Extreme Ultraviolet Resists

Hybrid organic/inorganic materials are considered as the Extreme Ultraviolet photoresists of the future. Compared to chemically amplified polymer-based photoresists they offer higher EUV absorption cross sections, and higher etch resistance. The chemical reactions that occur in these materials upon excitation with EUV or other high energy radiation have been investigated over the past 8 years. This paper summarizes the findings for two classes of metal-based resists: metal oxo clusters with acrylate ligands, and organotin oxo cages.