Physical and lithographic properties of structurally diverse acetal-derivatized hydroxy styrene polymers are reported. The dissolution and thermal properties of the acetalblocked polymers vary with the size of the pendent acetal moiety. The lithographic performance of the resists containing "bulky" acetal-derivatized polymers was found to be superior to those containing non-bulky acetal functionalized polymers. In the cases where the acidolysis products of the bulky acetal-based polymers are non-volatile alcohols, the post-exposure volatilization, film shrinkage and plasma etch resistance were found to be significantly improved. Bulky acetal-derivatized polymers also show excellent thermal and shelf life stability.
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