A composition for forming an underlayer film necessary for facilitating alignment of self-assembled film into desired vertical pattern. Composition for forming an underlayer film of self-assembled film including a polymer having unit structure containing aliphatic polycyclic structure of aliphatic polycyclic compound in main chain. The polymer is a polymer having unit structure containing aliphatic polycyclic structure of aliphatic polycyclic compound with aromatic ring structure of aromatic ring-containing compound or polymer chain derived from vinyl group of vinyl group-containing compound in main chain. The polymer has unit structure of Formula (1):
X—Y  Formula (1)
wherein X is single bond, divalent group having vinyl structure as polymer chain, or divalent group having aromatic ring-containing structure as polymer chain, and Y is divalent group having aliphatic polycyclic structure as polymer chain. The aliphatic polycyclic compound is bi- to hexa-cyclic diene compound. The aliphatic polycyclic compound is dicyclopentadiene or norbornadiene.

A material for forming an organic film using a polymer including an imide group for forming an organic underlayer film that cures under film-forming conditions in the air and in an inert gas, generates no by-product in heat resistance and embedding and flattening characteristics of a pattern formed on a substrate, also adhesiveness to a substrate for manufacturing a semiconductor apparatus, a method for forming an organic film, and a patterning process. The material includes (A) a polymer having a repeating unit represented by the following general formula (1A) whose terminal group is a group represented by either of the following general formulae (1B) or (1C), and (B) an organic solvent: ##STR00001##
wherein, W.sub.1 represents a tetravalent organic group, and W.sub.2 represents a divalent organic group: ##STR00002##
wherein, R.sub.1 represents any of the groups represented by the following formula (1D), and two or more of R.sub.1s may be used in combination. ##STR00003##

A resist underlayer composition includes a polymer including a structural unit represented by Chemical Formula 1, and a solvent. A method of forming patterns uses the resist underlayer composition under a photoresist pattern to enhance the sensitivity of the photoresist to an exposure light source, thereby providing enhanced resolution and faster processing times. ##STR00001##

A method of forming a device includes forming a hard mask layer over an underlying layer of a substrate, forming an anti-reflective coating layer over the hard mask layer, forming a patterned resist layer over the anti-reflective coating layer, and forming a mandrel including the anti-reflective coating layer by patterning the anti-reflective coating layer using the patterned resist layer as an etch mask. The method includes forming a sidewall spacer on the mandrel including the anti-reflective coating layer, forming a freestanding spacer on the hard mask layer by removing the mandrel from the anti-reflective coating layer, and using the freestanding spacer as an etch mask, patterning the underlying layer of the substrate.

A composition for forming a film capable of effectively functioning as a resist underlayer film exhibiting resistance to a solvent in a composition for forming a resist film serving as an upper layer, favorable etching property to a fluorine-containing gas, and favorable lithographic property. A film-forming composition including a hydrolysis condensate prepared through hydrolysis and condensation of a hydrolyzable silane compound by using two or more acidic compounds, and a solvent, the film-forming composition being characterized in that: the hydrolyzable silane compound contains an amino-group-containing silane of the following Formula (1):

R.sup.1.sub.aR.sup.2.sub.bSi(R.sup.3).sub.4−(a+b)  (1)

A novel method for the manufacturing of fine line circuitry on a transparent substrates is provided, the method comprises the following steps in the given order providing a transparent substrate, depositing a pattern of light-shielding activation layer on at least a portion of the front side of said substrate, placing a photosensitive composition on the front side of the substrate and on the pattern of light-shielding activation layer, photo-curing the photosensitive composition from the back side of the substrate with a source of electromagnetic radiation, removing any uncured remnants of the photosensitive composition; and thereby exposing recessed structures and deposition of at least one metal into the thus formed recessed structures whereby a transparent substrate with fine line circuitry thereon is formed. The method allows for very uniform and fine line circuitry with a line and space dimension of 0.5 to 10 μm.

A phenolic hydroxyl-containing compound is provided. The compound dissolves well in solvents and can be formulated into compositions that give coatings superior in thermal decomposition resistance, alkali developability, resolution, and dry-etch resistance. Specifically, the compound is a phenolic hydroxyl-containing calixarene represented by structural formula (1):

##STR00001##

(where A is a structural unit including a dihydroxynaphthalene- or naphthol-derived structure optionally with a substituent alkyl, alkoxy, aryl, or aralkyl group or halogen atom on the aromatic rings and a methylene group optionally having an alkyl or aryl group in place of one of the hydrogen atoms) and obtained using a dihydroxynaphthalene in combination with a naphthol, with the total repeat number p being an integer of 2 to 10.

Organic coating compositions, particularly antireflective coating compositions for use with an overcoated photoresist, are provided that comprise that comprise a thermal acid generator that comprises: i) a pyridinium component having one or more ring substituents selected from optionally substituted alkyl and optionally substituted heteroalkyl; and ii) a sulfonic acid component.

A photosensitive composition for the formation of resist underlayer films that contains a novolac phenolic resin resulting from an acid-catalyzed reaction between one or more phenolic trinuclear compounds (A) selected from the group consisting of the compounds of general formula (1) and the compounds of general formula (2) and an aldehyde (B).

##STR00001##

In the formulae, R.sup.1, R.sup.2, and R.sup.3 each independently represent a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, R.sup.4 represents hydrogen, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, or substituted or unsubstituted aryl, p and q are each independently an integer of 1 to 4, r is an integer of 0 to 4, and s is 1 or 2, with the proviso that the sum of r and s is 5 or less.

R.sup.1.sub.aR.sup.2.sub.bSi(R.sup.3).sub.4−(a+b)   (1)

A composition for a silicon-containing resist underlying film and for forming a resist underlying film that can be removed by a conventional method employing dry etching, but also by a method employing wet etching using a chemical liquid in a step for processing a semiconductor substrate or the like; and a composition for forming a resist underlying film for lithography and for forming a resist underlying film that has excellent storage stability and produces less residue in a dry etching step. A composition for forming a resist underlying film, the composition including a hydrolysis condensate of a hydrolysable silane mixture containing an alkyltrialkoxy silane and a hydrolysable silane of formula (1), wherein the contained amount of the alkyltrialkoxy silane in the mixture is 0 mol % or more but less than 40 mol % with respect to the total amount by mole of all of the hydrolysable silane contained in the mixture.