A photoresist composition, including an acid-sensitive polymer and photoacid generator compound having Formula (I):

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wherein, EWG, Y, R, and M.sup.+ are the same as described in the specification.

An object of the present invention is to provide a solution which contains an organic solvent as a main component (content: equal to or greater than 98% by mass) and has an excellent defect inhibition ability. Another object of the present invention is to provide a solution storage body storing the solution, an actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition containing the solution, and a pattern forming method and a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device using the solution. The solution of the present invention is a solution containing at least one kind of organic solvent having a boiling point lower than 200° C. and an organic impurity having a boiling point equal to or higher than 250° C., in which a content of the organic solvent with respect to a total mass of the solution is equal to or greater than 98% by mass, and a content of the organic impurity with respect to the total mass of the solution is equal to or greater than 0.1 mass ppm and less than 100 mass ppm.

A photoresist film is patterned into an array of island shapes with improved critical dimension uniformity and no phase edges by using two alternating phase shifting masks (AltPSMs) and one post expose bake (PEB). The photoresist layer is exposed with a first AltPSM having a line/space (L/S) pattern where light through alternating clear regions on each side of an opaque line is 180° phase shifted. Thereafter, there is a second exposure with a second AltPSM having a L/S pattern where opaque lines are aligned orthogonal to the lengthwise dimension of opaque lines in the first exposure, and with alternating 0° and 180° clear regions. Then, a PEB and subsequent development process are used to form an array of island shapes. The double exposure method enables smaller island shapes than conventional photolithography and uses relatively simple AltPSM designs that are easier to implement in production than other optical enhancement techniques.

A radiation-sensitive resin composition includes: a resin including a structural unit (A) represented by formula (1) and a structural unit (B) having an acid-dissociable group; a radiation-sensitive acid generator; and a solvent. R.sup.1 is a halogen atom-substituted or unsubstituted monovalent hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms; X is —O— or —S—; L.sup.a1 is a halogen atom-substituted or unsubstituted divalent hydrocarbon group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, and R.sup.P is a monovalent organic group having at least one structure selected from the group consisting of a lactone structure, a cyclic carbonate structure, and a sultone structure.

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The present invention provides a resist underlayer film capable of improving LWR and CDU in a fine pattern formed by a chemically-amplified resist which uses an acid as a catalyst. A composition for forming a silicon-containing resist underlayer film, including a thermosetting silicon-containing material (Sx), a curing catalyst (Xc), and a solvent, in which a distance of diffusion of the curing catalyst (Xc) from a resist underlayer film formed from the composition for forming a silicon-containing resist underlayer film to a resist upper layer film to be formed on the resist underlayer film is 5 nm or less.

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.

A resist composition comprising a base polymer and a quencher is provided. The quencher is a salt compound consisting of a cyclic ammonium cation and an anion derived from a fluorinated 1,3-diketone compound, fluorinated β-keto ester compound or fluorinated imide compound. 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.

A chemically amplified resist composition is provided comprising (A) a polymer P comprising repeat units having an acid labile group containing a fluorinated aromatic ring, repeat units having a phenolic hydroxy group, and repeat units adapted to generate an acid upon exposure, (B) an onium salt type quencher, and (C) a solvent. The resist composition exhibits a high sensitivity, low LWR and improved CDU when processed by photolithography.

A positive resist composition is provided comprising a base polymer end-capped with an ammonium salt of an iodized acid, linked to a sulfide group. Because of controlled acid diffusion, a resist film of the composition forms a pattern of good profile with a high resolution and reduced edge roughness or dimensional variation.

A negative resist composition is provided comprising a base polymer, a quencher in the form of a sulfonium salt of a weaker acid than a sulfonic acid which is fluorinated at α- and/or β-position of the sulfo group, the sulfonium salt having at least two polymerizable double bonds in the molecule, and an acid generator capable of generating a sulfonic acid which is fluorinated at α- and/or β-position of the sulfo group. The resist composition adapted for organic solvent development exhibits a high resolution and improved LWR or CDU.