Patent ID: 11886121
Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.
Field: Optics (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  H | IPC G  H

Claim 9:
10. A method, comprising:
coating a photoresist layer on a substrate;
performing an exposure process to the photoresist layer such that the photoresist layer comprises an exposed portion;
performing a developing process to remove the exposed portion to form a patterned photoresist on the substrate, wherein the patterned photoresist has unreacted acid-labile groups;
after performing the developing process, forming a polymer layer covering the patterned photoresist, wherein the polymer layer has a glass transition temperature higher than or equal to a glass transition temperature of the patterned photoresist;
after forming the polymer layer covering the patterned photoresist, heating the polymer layer and the patterned photoresist such that the polymer layer produces protons, and reacting the produced protons with the unreacted acid-labile groups of the patterned photoresist, wherein the unreacted acid-labile groups are hydrophobic, and the reacting the produced protons with the unreacted acid-labile groups of the patterned photoresist comprises transforming a portion of the unreacted acid-labile groups into hydrophilic groups, thereby forming a hydrophilic portion on a surface of the patterned photoresist; and
removing the heated polymer layer from the patterned photoresist after the heating the polymer layer to produce the protons.