A radiation-sensitive resin composition comprising a binder resin (A), radiation-sensitive compound (B), cross-linking agent (C), and silane coupling agent (D) represented by the following general formula (1) is provided. In the general formula (1), R1 to R3 respectively independently are a monovalent alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms. R4 is a divalent alkylene group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, R5 is a hydrogen atom or monovalent alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, and R6 to R10 are a hydrogen atom or monovalent alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms.

##STR00001##

A system and method for anti-reflective layers is provided. In an embodiment the anti-reflective layer comprises a floating additive in order to form a floating additive region along a top surface of the anti-reflective layer after the anti-reflective layer has dispersed. The floating additive may comprise an additive group which will decompose along with a fluorine unit bonded to the additive group which will decompose. Additionally, adhesion between the middle layer and the photoresist may be increased by applying an adhesion promotion layer using either a deposition process or phase separation, or a cross-linking may be performed between the middle layer and the photoresist.

A lithography method is provided in accordance with some embodiments. The lithography method includes forming an under layer of a polymeric material on a substrate; forming a silicon-containing middle layer on the under layer, wherein the silicon-containing middle layer has a silicon concentration in weight percentage less than 20% and is wet strippable; forming a patterned photosensitive layer on the silicon-containing middle layer; performing a first etching process to transfer a pattern of the patterned photosensitive layer to the silicon-containing middle layer; performing a second etching process to transfer the pattern to the under layer; and performing a wet stripping process to the silicon-containing middle layer and the under layer.

A method is provided including forming a first layer over a substrate and forming an adhesion layer over the first layer. The adhesion layer has a composition including an epoxy group. A photoresist layer is formed directly on the adhesion layer. A portion of the photoresist layer is exposed to a radiation source. The composition of the adhesion layer and the exposed portion of the photoresist layer cross-link using the epoxy group. Thee photoresist layer is then developed (e.g., by a negative tone developer) to form a photoresist pattern feature, which may overlie the formed cross-linked region.

The present invention is a photosensitive resin composition including, (A) an acid-crosslinkable group-containing silicone resin, (B) an oxazoline compound or a derivative thereof, and (C) a photo-acid generator. This provides: a photosensitive resin composition that can easily form a thick and fine pattern without causing discoloration of copper and can form a resin film that is excellent in copper migration resistance, adhesiveness to a base material, and reliability; a photosensitive resin film; a photosensitive dry film; and a pattern-forming process by using these.

The present invention is a thermosetting silicon-containing material containing one or more of a repeating unit shown by the following general formula (Sx-1), a repeating unit shown by the following general formula (Sx-2), and a partial structure shown by the following general formula (Sx-3): ##STR00001##
where R.sup.1 represents an iodine-containing organic group; and R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are each independently identical to R.sup.1, a hydrogen atom, or a monovalent organic group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms. This provides: a thermosetting silicon-containing material used for forming a resist underlayer film which is capable of contributing to sensitivity enhancement of an upper layer resist while keeping LWR thereof from degrading; a composition for forming a silicon-containing resist underlayer film, the composition containing the thermosetting silicon-containing material; and a patterning process using the composition.

The present invention is a composition for forming a silicon-containing resist film contains a polysiloxane containing at least one of any of a repeating unit represented by formula (A-1), a repeating unit represented by formula (A-2), or a substructure represented by formula (A-3):

##STR00001## wherein R.sup.1 is a monovalent organic group, a halogen atom, a hydroxy group, a sulfo group, a nitro group, or a carboxyl group, functioning as a group eliminated by heat, acid, or base, and R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 represent a monovalent organic group. The present invention can provide a composition for forming a silicon-containing resist film such that an ultra-fine resist pattern with excellent LWR (line width roughness) and CDU (critical dimension uniformity) can be formed.

Provided is a negative photosensitive resin composition comprising: a polyimide (A) represented by formula (1) {in formula (1), A denotes a structure derived from a tetracarboxylic dianhydride, B denotes a structure derived from a diamine, and D denotes an imide structure, Z.sub.1 and Z.sub.2 may each be the same or different, and each denotes a monovalent organic group comprising a photopolymerizable functional group and at least one linking group selected from the group consisting of an ester bond, a urea bond, and an amide bond, and the photopolymerizable functional group is present at the end of Z.sub.1 and/or Z.sub.2, l and m are integers of 0 or 1 and satisfy l+m=1, n is an integer of 1-30, and p and q are each an integer of 0-2 and satisfy p+q1}; a solvent (B); and a photopolymerization initiator (C).

A thinner composition, a method for substrate processing and a modified photoresist are provided. The thinner composition includes a solvent (A), a fluorine-containing additive (B) and a polyether polyol (C). The fluorine-containing additive (B) includes a polymer represented by the following Formula (B-1), a polymer represented by the following Formula (B-2), a polymer represented by the following Formula (B-3), a polymer represented by the following Formula (B-4), or a combination thereof. The polyether polyol (C) includes a polymer represented by following Formula (C-1). A ratio of a usage amount of the fluorine-containing additive (B) to a usage amount of the polyether polyol (C) is 2:1 to 1:4. Based on 100 parts by weight of the thinner composition, a usage amount of the fluorine-containing additive (B) is 0.001 parts by weight to 2 parts by weight, a usage amount of the polyether polyol (C) is 0.001 parts by weight to 2 parts by weight.

##STR00001##

In Formula (B-1), Formula (B-2), Formula (B-3), Formula (B-4) and Formula (C-1), the definition of R.sup.1 to R.sup.11, T.sup.1 to T.sup.3, Y.sup.1 to Y.sup.3, a, b, e, f, g, j, k, m, p, t, u and w are the same as the definition thereof in the specification.