A resist composition comprising a base polymer and a quencher in the form of an ammonium salt consisting of an ammonium cation having an iodized aromatic ring bonded to the nitrogen atom via a C.sub.1-C.sub.20 hydrocarbylene group which may contain an ester bond or ether bond and a carboxylate anion having an iodized or brominated hydrocarbyl group offers a high sensitivity and minimal LWR or improved CDU, independent of whether it is of positive or negative tone.

A chemically-amplified negative resist composition includes: (A) an acid generator containing an onium salt (s) shown by the following formula(e) (A-1) and/or (A-2); and (B) a base polymer containing repeating units shown by the following formulae (B1) and (B2). Thus, the present invention provides: a chemically-amplified negative resist composition which provides a pattern with high sensitivity, low LWR and CDU, and favorable profile; and a resist patterning process using the composition. ##STR00001##

A resist composition comprising a base polymer and a quencher in the form of an ammonium salt consisting of an ammonium cation having an iodized aromatic ring bonded to the nitrogen atom via a C.sub.1-C.sub.20 hydrocarbylene group and an anion derived from an iodized or brominated phenol offers a high sensitivity and minimal LWR or improved CDU, independent of whether it is of positive or negative tone.

The present disclosure relates to novel multiple trigger monomer containing negative working photoresist compositions and processes. The processes involve removing acid-labile protecting groups from crosslinking functionalities in a first step and crosslinking the crosslinking functionality with an acid sensitive crosslinker in a second step. The incorporation of a multiple trigger pathway in the resist catalytic chain increases the chemical gradient in areas receiving a low dose of irradiation, effectively acting as a built in dose depend quencher-analog and thus enhancing chemical gradient and thus resolution, resolution blur and exposure latitude. The photoresist compositions utilize novel monomers and mixtures of novel monomers. The methods are ideal for fine pattern processing using, for example, ultraviolet radiation, beyond extreme ultraviolet radiation, extreme ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and charged particle rays.

A positive resist composition comprising a base polymer comprising recurring units (a) having the structure of an ammonium salt of fluorosulfonic acid having an iodized or brominated aromatic ring, and recurring units (b1) having an acid labile group-substituted carboxyl group and/or recurring units (b2) having an acid labile group-substituted phenolic hydroxyl group exhibits a high sensitivity, high resolution, low edge roughness and dimensional uniformity, and forms a pattern of good profile after exposure and development.

A positive resist composition is provided comprising a base polymer comprising repeat units (a) having two triple bonds and repeat units (b) adapted to increase solubility in an alkaline developer under the action of acid. A pattern of good profile with a high resolution, reduced LWR, and improved CDU is formed therefrom.

To address the needs in the art, a method of fabricating a meta-surface antireflective coating that includes forming on a substrate or in a film on the substrate, using a patterning method, a pattern of nanostructures, where the nanostructures include a pattern of nanowires or a pattern of nanoparticles, or the pattern nanowires and the pattern of nanoparticles, where the nanostructures are arranged to form a metasurface AR coating, where the metasurface AR coating reflects incident light in a double-dip reflectance according to a doubly-resonant arrangement of the metasurface AR coating, where the metasurface AR coating comprises a structure for a direct light pathway and a resonant light pathway.

Provided are a method for forming a resist pattern that demonstrates excellent performance in sensitivity, resolution, etc. in an exposure step when a next-generation exposure technique is applied, and a radiation-sensitive resin composition. The method for forming a resist pattern includes step (1) of forming a resist film in which a content of a radiation-sensitive acid generator (C) is 0.1% by mass or less, step (2) of exposing the resist film to EUV or an electron beam (EB), and step (3) of developing the resist film exposed in the step (2).

A resist composition which generates an acid upon exposure and whose solubility in a developing solution is changed due to an action of the acid, the resist composition including a base material component whose solubility in a developing solution is changed due to the action of an acid, an acid generator component which generates an acid upon exposure, and an organic acid which contains at least one carboxy group, in which the acid generator component contains a compound represented by formula (b1) in which R.sup.2011 to R.sup.2031 represent an aryl group, an alkyl group, or an alkenyl group. R.sup.2011 to R.sup.2031 have a total of four or more substituents containing fluorine atoms, X.sup.n− represent an n-valent anion, and n represents an integer of 1 or greater. ##STR00001##

Provided are a random copolymer for forming a neutral layer promoting directed self-assembly pattern formation, a laminate for forming a pattern including the same, and a method for forming a high-quality pattern using the same.