A photo-decomposable compound, a photoresist composition including the photo-decomposable compound, and a method of manufacturing an integrated circuit (IC) device using the photoresist composition, the photo-decomposable compound including a phenyl sulfonium cation component; and an anion component, wherein the phenyl sulfonium cation component has a protecting group, which is decomposable by an action of acid to generate an alkali-soluble group in response to exposure, the anion component generates acid in response to exposure, the protecting group is represented by *—C(═O)OR, in which R is a substituted or unsubstituted t-butyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted C3 to C30 alicyclic group, and * is a bonding site, and the protecting group is bonded to a phenyl group of the phenyl sulfonium cation component through an ether linking group.

A photo-decomposable compound, a photoresist composition including the photo-decomposable compound, and a method of manufacturing an integrated circuit (IC) device using the photoresist composition, the photo-decomposable compound including a phenyl sulfonium cation component; and an anion component, wherein the phenyl sulfonium cation component has a protecting group, which is decomposable by an action of acid to generate an alkali-soluble group in response to exposure, the anion component generates acid in response to exposure, the protecting group is represented by *—C(═O)OR, in which R is a substituted or unsubstituted t-butyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted C3 to C30 alicyclic group, and * is a bonding site, and the protecting group is bonded to a phenyl group of the phenyl sulfonium cation component through an ether linking group.

A resist composition containing a base material component (A) of which solubility in a developing solution is changed due to an action of an acid and a compound represented by Formula (bd1); in the formula, R.sup.bd1 to R.sup.bd3 each independently represent an aryl group which may have a substituent, provided that at least two of R.sup.bd1 to R.sup.bd3 are aryl groups having one or more fluorine atoms as substituents, and at least one of the fluorine atoms of the aryl group is bonded to a carbon atom adjacent to a carbon atom that is bonded to the sulfur atom in the formula, and the total number of the fluorine atoms is 4 or more; X.sup.− represents a counter anion. ##STR00001##

A photo-decomposable compound includes an anion component including an adamantyl group and a cation component including a C5 to C40 cyclic hydrocarbon group and forming a complex with the anion component. At least one of the adamantyl group and the cyclic hydrocarbon group has a substituent, which decomposes by acid and generates an alkali soluble group. The substituent includes an acid-labile protecting group. A photoresist composition includes a chemically amplified polymer, the photo-decomposable compound, and a solvent. To manufacture an integrated circuit (IC) device, a photoresist film is formed using the photoresist composition on a feature layer, a first area of the photoresist film is exposed to generate a plurality of acids from the photo-decomposable compound in the first area, the chemically amplified polymer is deprotected due to the plurality of acids, and the first area is removed to form a photoresist pattern.

A photo-decomposable compound includes an anion component including an adamantyl group and a cation component including a C5 to C40 cyclic hydrocarbon group and forming a complex with the anion component. At least one of the adamantyl group and the cyclic hydrocarbon group has a substituent, which decomposes by acid and generates an alkali soluble group. The substituent includes an acid-labile protecting group. A photoresist composition includes a chemically amplified polymer, the photo-decomposable compound, and a solvent. To manufacture an integrated circuit (IC) device, a photoresist film is formed using the photoresist composition on a feature layer, a first area of the photoresist film is exposed to generate a plurality of acids from the photo-decomposable compound in the first area, the chemically amplified polymer is deprotected due to the plurality of acids, and the first area is removed to form a photoresist pattern.

A method for producing an actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition, the method including passing a solution including an acid compound having a pKa of 2.0 or more through a column packed with an ion-exchange resin, producing an onium salt by using the acid compound having been passed through the column, and mixing together the onium salt and a resin that undergoes an increase in polarity due to action of acid.

A method for producing an actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition, the method including passing a solution including an acid compound having a pKa of 2.0 or more through a column packed with an ion-exchange resin, producing an onium salt by using the acid compound having been passed through the column, and mixing together the onium salt and a resin that undergoes an increase in polarity due to action of acid.

An actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition contains a compound represented by General Formula (I). In General Formula (I), R.sub.a and R.sub.b each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent, provided that R.sub.a and R.sub.b satisfy the following requirement (1) or (2): (1) at least one of R.sub.a or R.sub.b represents a secondary alkyl group, a tertiary alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, or a perfluoroalkyl group, and R.sub.a and R.sub.b may be bonded to each other to form a ring, and (2) R.sub.a and R.sub.b are bonded to each other to form a ring, R.sub.c represents a substituent, L.sub.0 represents a single bond or a divalent linking group, L.sub.1 represents a single bond or a divalent linking group, L.sub.2 represents a single bond or a divalent linking group, nM.sup.+ represents an organic cationic moiety, and n represents an integer of 1 or more.

A carboxylate represented by formula (I), a resin comprising a structural unit derived from the carboxylate represented by formula (I), a resit composition comprising the carboxylate represented by formula (I) or a resin comprising a structural unit derived from the carboxylate represented by formula (I).

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A carboxylate represented by formula (I), a resin comprising a structural unit derived from the carboxylate represented by formula (I), a resit composition comprising the carboxylate represented by formula (I) or a resin comprising a structural unit derived from the carboxylate represented by formula (I).

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