A method for reducing resist consumption (RRC) is provided. The method includes treating a surface of a substrate using a RRC composition and forming a photoresist layer comprising a metal-containing material on the RRC composition treated surface. The RRC composition includes a solvent and an acid or a base. The solvent has a dispersion parameter between 10 and 25. The acid has an acid dissociation constant between -20 and 6.8. The base having an acid dissociation constant between 7.2 and 45.

A method of operating a manufacturing platform includes moving a substrate through the manufacturing platform using one or more transfer modules. A dry resist is deposited on the substrate using a resist deposition module of the manufacturing platform. The substrate is examined for distortion with a metrology system that is part of a transfer module. The dry resist is exposed to UV or EUV radiation using an exposure tool of the manufacturing platform. Exposed or unexposed portions of the dry resist are removed using an etch module of the manufacturing platform.

An organically modified metal oxide nanoparticle includes a core, a first modification group, and a second modification group. The core includes a plurality of metal atoms and a plurality of oxygen atoms bonded to the plurality of metal atoms. The first modification group is a saturated carboxylic acid/carboxylate ligand coordinated to the core. The second modification group is coordinated to the core, and is an inorganic anion having a smaller size than the first modification group and/or a saturated carboxylic acid/carboxylate ligand having a smaller molecular weight than the first modification group.

Alternating copolymers having hydrocarbon-substituted terminal units and repeat units each containing two different monomer units with extreme ultraviolet (EUV)-absorbing elements are disclosed. Alternating copolymers having organic terminal units and repeat units each containing a monomer unit with an EUV-absorbing element and an organic monomer unit are also disclosed. A process of forming a polymer resist, which includes providing an alternating copolymer having repeat units with at least one EUV-absorbing monomer unit and replacing end groups of the alternating copolymer with unreactive terminal units, is disclosed as well.

The present disclosure is directed to organotin cluster compounds having formula (I) and their use as photoresists in extreme ultraviolet lithography processes.

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An extreme ultraviolet mask including a substrate, a reflective multilayer stack on the substrate and a multi-layer patterned absorber layer on the reflective multilayer stack is provided. Disclosed embodiments include an absorber layer that includes an alloy comprising ruthenium (Ru), chromium (Cr), platinum (Pt), gold (Au), iridium (Ir), titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), rhodium (Rh), molybdenum (Mo), tungsten (W) or palladium (Pd), and at least one alloying element. The at least one alloying element includes ruthenium (Ru), chromium (Cr), tantalum (Ta), platinum (Pt), gold (Au), iridium (Ir), titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), rhodium (Rh), molybdenum (Mo), hafnium (Hf), boron (B), nitrogen (N), silicon (Si), zirconium (Zr) or vanadium (V). Other embodiments include a multi-layer patterned absorber structure with layers that include an alloy and an alloying element, where at least two of the layers of the multi-layer structure have different compositions.

A method of processing a substrate that includes: forming, over the substrate placed in a process chamber, an extreme ultraviolet (EUV)-active photoresist film including a tin alkenoxide moiety by exposing the substrate to a tin-containing precursor and exposing the substrate to an oxygen-containing precursor that reacts with the tin from the tin-containing precursor to form the tin alkenoxide; and patterning the EUV-active photoresist film by exposing the substrate to an EUV irradiation.

Heterocyclic-functional resins, such as epoxides, oxetanes, cyclic carbonates, lactides and lactones, are used in radiation-curable formulations along with ethylenically unsaturated materials such as (meth)acrylates to achieve improved mechanical properties and/or lower shrinkage in the cured compositions prepared therefrom as compared to formulations containing the ethylenically unsaturated materials but no heterocyclic-functional resin. Polymerizable, ethylenically unsaturated metal complexes, such as Zn and Ca carboxylates prepared using unsaturated carboxylic acids or anhydrides, may be employed to effect thermal cure of the heterocyclic-functional resin component of such formulations, which are particularly useful in the production of 3D-printed articles and the like.

A radiation-sensitive composition contains: a polymetalloxane including a structural unit represented by formula (1); a radiation-sensitive acid generator; and a solvent. In the following formula (1), M represents a germanium atom, a tin atom or a lead atom; Ar.sup.1 represents a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group having 6 to 20 ring atoms or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl group having 5 to 20 ring atoms; R.sup.1 represents a monovalent organic group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom or a hydroxy group; and n is 2 or 3. ##STR00001##

New Te-zwitterion compounds are provided, including photoactive tellurium salt compounds useful for Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography.