Computational Study of Organotin Oxide Systems for Extreme Ultraviolet Photoresist
Jingbin Li, Wang Zhefeng, Han Wang
Abstract
With the advancement of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology, the demand for high-performance EUV photoresists has surged. Traditional photoresists struggle to meet the stringent requirements for increasingly smaller feature sizes in semiconductor manufacturing. Among emerging candidates, tin-based materials, particularly Sn 12 -oxo photoresists, have shown promise due to their superior EUV light absorption properties. Modifying these clusters offers a potential pathway to tailoring their properties for specific lithographic applications. In this study, we investigate the relationship between the photosensitivity of experimentally synthesized Sn 12 -oxo photoresists and their calculable parameters with quantum chemistry calculations. Key parameters such as bonding energies between metal atoms and organic ligands, molecular ionization potential, electrostatic potential, and HOMO–LUMO gap are identified as critical for predicting photosensitivity. While current research predominantly focuses on replacing counter-anions in Sn 12 -oxo clusters, there is limited exploration of modifications through the replacement of organic ligands. We examined the effects of electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups as ligands on the Sn 12 -oxo cluster’s ionization potential and Sn–ligand bonding energy. Our findings suggest a strategy for designing high-performance photoresists, thereby illuminating the path to discovering novel photoresist materials.