Provided is a resist underlayer film-forming composition that is used in a lithographic process in semiconductor manufacturing and has excellent storage stability. The resist underlayer film-forming composition contains: a polymer having a disulfide bond in a main chain; a radical trapping agent; and a solvent. The radical trapping agent is preferably a compound having a ring structure or a thioether structure. The ring structure is preferably an aromatic ring structure having 6-40 carbon atoms or a 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine structure.

Embodiments disclosed herein include methods of developing a metal oxo photoresist. In an embodiment, the method comprises providing a substrate with the metal oxo photoresist into a vacuum chamber, where the metal oxo photoresist comprises exposed regions and unexposed regions. In an embodiment, the unexposed regions comprise a higher carbon concentration than the exposed regions. The method may further comprise vaporizing a halogenating agent into the vacuum chamber, where the halogenating agent reacts with either the unexposed regions or the exposed regions to produce a volatile byproduct. In an embodiment, the method may further comprise purging the vacuum chamber.

A manufacturing method for a cured substance includes a film forming step of applying a specific photosensitive resin composition onto a base material to form a film, an exposure step of selectively exposing the film, a development step of developing the exposed film with a developer to form a pattern, a treatment step of bringing a treatment liquid into contact with the pattern, and a heating step of heating the pattern after the treatment step, in which at least one of the developer or the treatment liquid contains at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a base and a base generator.

Disclosed are a compound represented by formula (I), a resin including a structural unit derived from the compound, and a resist composition: ##STR00001## wherein R.sup.1 represents an alkyl group which may have a halogen atom, a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom; A.sup.1 represents a single bond or *-A.sup.2-CO—O—; A.sup.2 and A.sup.3 represent an alkanediyl group; W represents a divalent monocyclic saturated alicyclic hydrocarbon group; R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 each represent a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group which may have a fluorine atom, etc., R.sup.4 represents a hydrogen atom, —CH.sub.2— in the group may be replaced by —O—, —S—, etc., R.sup.2 and R.sup.3, or R.sup.2, R.sup.3 and R.sup.4 may be bonded each other to form a ring which may have a fluorine atom or an alkyl group.

Disclosed are a compound represented by formula (I), a resin including a structural unit derived from the compound, and a resist composition: ##STR00001## wherein R.sup.1 represents an alkyl group which may have a halogen atom, a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom; A.sup.1 represents a single bond or *-A.sup.2-CO—O—; A.sup.2 and A.sup.3 represent an alkanediyl group; W represents a divalent monocyclic saturated alicyclic hydrocarbon group; R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 each represent a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group which may have a fluorine atom, etc., R.sup.4 represents a hydrogen atom, —CH.sub.2— in the group may be replaced by —O—, —S—, etc., R.sup.2 and R.sup.3, or R.sup.2, R.sup.3 and R.sup.4 may be bonded each other to form a ring which may have a fluorine atom or an alkyl group.

A filtering device is for obtaining a chemical liquid by purifying a liquid to be purified, and the filtering device has an inlet portion, an outlet portion, a filter A, at least one filter B different from the filter A, and a flow path which includes the filter A and the filter B arranged in series and extends from the inlet portion to the outlet portion, in which the filter A has a porous base material made of polyfluorocarbon and a coating layer which is disposed to cover the porous base material and contains a resin having an adsorptive group.

A lithographic method for making an out-of-plane optical coupler includes forming a photoresist layer of positive photoresist material over a substrate. The positive photoresist layer undergoes a flood exposure to light through a binary mask to pattern a latent image of a mirror blank in the photoresist layer. A laser beam is scanned over the latent image of the mirror blank to apply controlled dosages of light at specified locations to form a latent image of a planar mirror surface that is oriented at a prescribed non-zero angle to a plane in which the substrate extends. The positive photoresist material is developed so that a remaining portion of the developed positive photoresist material forms an out-of-plane optical coupler having a planar mirror surface that is oriented at the prescribed angle.

A lithographic method for making an out-of-plane optical coupler includes forming a photoresist layer of positive photoresist material over a substrate. The positive photoresist layer undergoes a flood exposure to light through a binary mask to pattern a latent image of a mirror blank in the photoresist layer. A laser beam is scanned over the latent image of the mirror blank to apply controlled dosages of light at specified locations to form a latent image of a planar mirror surface that is oriented at a prescribed non-zero angle to a plane in which the substrate extends. The positive photoresist material is developed so that a remaining portion of the developed positive photoresist material forms an out-of-plane optical coupler having a planar mirror surface that is oriented at the prescribed angle.

The present disclosure provides a positive photoresist composition including a major adhesive material and a photosensitizer, wherein the photoresist composition further includes a photoisomerizable compound which would be converted into an ionic structure with an increased degree of molecular polarity after ultraviolet irradiation. The formation of the ionic structure with increased polarity of the molecule reduces the adhesion between the positive photoresist and the organic film layer, facilitates stripping after formation of the via, and improves the product rate of pass. Further, the present disclosure provides a via-forming method using the positive resist composition, a display substrate including the via formed by the via-forming method, and a display device including the display substrate.

The present disclosure provides a positive photoresist composition including a major adhesive material and a photosensitizer, wherein the photoresist composition further includes a photoisomerizable compound which would be converted into an ionic structure with an increased degree of molecular polarity after ultraviolet irradiation. The formation of the ionic structure with increased polarity of the molecule reduces the adhesion between the positive photoresist and the organic film layer, facilitates stripping after formation of the via, and improves the product rate of pass. Further, the present disclosure provides a via-forming method using the positive resist composition, a display substrate including the via formed by the via-forming method, and a display device including the display substrate.