A method for producing an actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition, comprising: preparing an intermediate solution which includes a photoacid generator and a solvent; and mixing the intermediate solution with at least a resin to prepare an actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition having a viscosity of 10 mPa.Math.s or more.

A resist composition is provided comprising a base polymer and a quencher comprising a salt compound consisting of a cyclic ammonium cation and a 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propoxide anion having a trifluoromethyl, hydrocarbylcarbonyl or hydrocarbyloxycarbonyl group bonded thereto. The resist composition has a high sensitivity and forms a pattern with improved LWR or CDU, independent of whether it is of positive or negative tone.

Provided are a salt capable of producing a resist pattern with satisfactory CD uniformity (CDU), an acid generator, and a resist composition comprising the same. Disclosed are a salt represented by formula (I), an acid generator, and a resist composition comprising the same:

##STR00001##

wherein R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.7 and R.sup.8 each represent a halogen atom, a haloalkyl group or a hydrocarbon group; A.sup.1 and A.sup.2 each represent a hydrocarbon group, the hydrocarbon group may have a substituent, and —CH.sub.2— included in the hydrocarbon group may be replaced by —O—, —CO—, —S— or —SO.sub.2—; ml represents an integer of 1 to 5, m2, m4, m5 and m8 represent an integer of 0 to 5, m7 represents an integer of 0 to 4, 1≤m1+m7≤5, 0≤m2+m8≤5; and AI.sup.− represents an organic anion.

A positive resist composition is provided comprising (A) a specific sulfonium salt as quencher, (B) a sulfonium salt consisting of a fluorinated sulfonate anion and a sulfonium cation as acid generator, and (C) a base polymer comprising repeat units having an acid labile group. The resist composition has a high sensitivity and resolution, improved LWR or CDU, and a broad process window and forms a pattern of good profile after exposure.

The present invention is a resist material containing a quencher, where the quencher contains a sulfonium salt of a carboxylic acid bonded to a maleimide group. In a chemically amplified resist material in which an acid is used as a catalyst, it is desired to develop a quencher that makes it possible to reduce LWR of line patterns and critical dimension uniformity (CDU) of hole patterns, and to improve sensitivity. For this purpose, it is necessary to reduce image blurs due to acid diffusion considerably. An object of the present invention is to provide: a resist material having high sensitivity, low LWR, and low CDU in both a positive resist material and a negative resist material; and a patterning process using the same.

A photoresist composition comprising: a resin which has a structural unit represented by formula (I): ##STR00001##
wherein R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, or a C1 to C6 alkyl group which optionally has a halogen atom, and R.sup.2 represents a C1 to C42 hydrocarbon group which optionally has a substituent; an alkali-soluble resin; an acid generator; and a solvent.

A photoacid generator (PAG) anion, a photoresist composition, and a method are disclosed. The PAG anion includes a moiety, selected from an alkyl group, a monocyclic aromatic group, and a bicyclic aromatic group, that includes a carbon atom with a negative elementary charge. The PAG anion also includes an electron acceptor atom, selected from boron(III), aluminum(III), and phosphorus(V), which is covalently bonded to the carbon atom. The PAG anion also has at least one electron-withdrawing R group. The photoresist composition has a PAG that includes the PAG anion and a cation selected from triphenylsulfonium, diphenyliodonium, phenylthiolanium, and derivatives thereof. The method includes forming a layer of the photoresist composition over a material surface on a substrate, irradiating the layer to form a pattern of radiation-exposed regions, selectively removing portions of the irradiated layer to form exposed portions of the material surface, and etching or ion implanting the exposed portions.

A novel onium salt of formula (1) and a chemically amplified resist composition comprising the same as a PAG are provided. When processed by photolithography using KrF or ArF excimer laser, EB or EUV, the resist composition has a high sensitivity and reduced acid diffusion and is improved in exposure latitude, MEF, and LWR. ##STR00001##

Methods and apparatuses for minimizing line edge/width roughness in lines formed by photolithography are provided. In one example, a method of processing a substrate includes applying a photoresist layer comprising a photoacid generator to on a multi-layer disposed on a substrate, wherein the multi-layer comprises an underlayer formed from an organic material, inorganic material, or a mixture of organic and inorganic materials, exposing a first portion of the photoresist layer unprotected by a photomask to a radiation light in a lithographic exposure process, and applying an electric field or a magnetic field to alter movement of photoacid generated from the photoacid generator substantially in a vertical direction.

A photosensitive composition for EUV light includes a predetermined resin and a photoacid generator, or includes a predetermined resin having a repeating unit having a photoacid generating group, and satisfies Requirements 1 to 3, Requirement 1: The A value determined by Formula (1) is 0.14 or more,
A=([H]×0.04+[C]×1.0+[N]×2.1+[O]×3.6+[F]×5.6+[S]×1.5+[I]×39.5)/([H]×1+[C]×12+[N]×14+[O]×16+[F]×19+[S]×32+[I]×127)  Formula(1) Requirement 2: The concentration of solid contents in the photosensitive composition for EUV light is 5.0% by mass or less, Requirement 3: The content of the photoacid generator is 5% to 50% by mass with respect to the total solid content in the photosensitive composition for EUV light.