The present invention is a resist material containing a base polymer and an acid generator, where the resist material contains, as the acid generator, a sulfonium salt or iodonium salt of a sulfonic 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 an acid generator 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 and low CDU in both a positive resist material and a negative resist material; and a patterning process using the same.

A method for producing a resist composition includes setting parameter, acquiring a pattern size for a regression analysis, analyzing performing a regression analysis, calculating a pattern size of a target resist composition based on the regression analysis, comparing the pattern size of the target resist composition and the target pattern size, determining a formulating amount of the resist composition in a case where a difference between the pattern size of the target resist composition and the target pattern size is within an allowable range, and producing a resist composition based on the determined formulating amount, in which, in a case where the difference is out of the allowable range, the method further includes changing at least the content of components in the target resist composition, and the formulating amount of the resist composition is determined based on the changed physical quantity to produce the resist composition.

An actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition includes a resin whose solubility in an aqueous alkali solution increases by the action of an acid, a compound that generates an acid upon irradiation with actinic rays or radiation, an ester compound, and a fluorine-containing polymer, in which the ester compound has alkali decomposability and has a molecular weight of 50 or more and less than 1,500.

A chemically-amplified negative resist composition includes: (A) a quencher containing an onium salt shown by the following formula (A-1); (B) a base polymer containing repeating units shown by the following formulae (B1) and (B2); and (C) a photo-acid generator which generates an acid. Thus, the present invention provides: a negative resist composition which can form a favorable profile with high sensitivity and low LWR and CDU in a pattern; and a resist patterning process using the composition. ##STR00001##

A positive resist composition is provided comprising two onium salts, a base polymer comprising acid labile group-containing recurring units, and an organic solvent. The positive resist composition forms a pattern having PED stability and improved properties including DOF, LWR, and controlled footing profile.

An object of the present invention is to provide a pattern forming method with which a pattern having excellent resolution performance and LER performance can be formed. In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an electronic device, an actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition, and a resist film.

A pattern forming method of the present invention includes a resist film forming step of forming a resist film on a substrate using an actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition, an exposing step of exposing the resist film, and a developing step of positively developing the exposed resist film using an organic solvent-based developer, in which the actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition includes a resin having a polar group, a compound including two or more ion pairs which are decomposed by an irradiation with an actinic ray or a radiation and having a molecular weight of 5,000 or less, and a solvent.

An actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition includes a salt including a sulfonium cation having an aryl group substituted with an acid-decomposable group-containing group and having at least three fluorine atoms; and a resin having a polarity that increases through decomposition by an action of an acid, in which the acid-decomposable group-containing group includes a group having a polarity that increases through decomposition by an action of an acid, and the acid-decomposable group-containing group includes no fluorine atom.

An actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition containing: a resin (P) of which a solubility in a developer changes by an action of an acid; a compound (A) that has a group (a) having a polarity which changes through decomposition by an action of an acid, and generates an acid (ac1) upon irradiation with actinic rays or radiation; a compound (B) that generates an acid (ac2) having a higher pKa than the acid (ac1) generated from the compound (A), upon irradiation with actinic rays or radiation; and a basic compound (C).

A method to control the density of a three-dimensional photonic crystal template involves changing the irradiation time from at least four laser beams to yield a periodic percolating matrix of mass and voids free of condensed matter from a photoresist composition. The photoresist composition includes a photoinitiator at a concentration where the dose or irradiation is controlled by the irradiation time and is less than the irradiation time that would convert all photoinitiator to initiating species such that the density of the three-dimensional photonic crystal template differs for different irradiation times. A deposition of reflecting or absorbing particles can be patterned on the surface of the photoresist composition to form a template with varying densities above different areas of the substrate.

A salt represented by formula (I): ##STR00001##
wherein Q.sup.1 and Q.sup.2 each independently represent a fluorine atom or a C.sub.1 to C.sub.6 perfluoroalkyl group, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a fluorine atom or a C.sub.1 to C.sub.6 perfluoroalkyl group, z represents an integer of 0 to 6, X.sup.1 represents *—O—, *—CO—O— or *—O—CO—, * represents a binding site to CR.sup.1R.sup.2 or CQ.sup.1Q.sup.2, L.sup.1 represents a C.sub.1 to C.sub.6 alkanediyl group, R.sup.3 represents a C.sub.5 to C.sub.18 alicyclic hydrocarbon group in which a hydrogen atom may be replaced by a hydroxy group, and in which a methylene group may be replaced by an oxygen atom or a carbonyl group, and which alicyclic hydrocarbon group may have a cyclic ketal structure optionally having a fluorine atom; and Z.sup.+ represents an organic cation.