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

Claim 15:
16. A method, comprising:
forming a photoresist layer on a substrate;
exposing and developing the photoresist layer to form a patterned photoresist layer including hydrophobic acid-labile groups;
after exposing and developing the photoresist layer to form the patterned photoresist layer, forming a molding layer covering the patterned photoresist layer;
heating the molding layer at a temperature higher than a glass transition temperature of the patterned photoresist layer thereof to produce protons from the molding layer;
reacting the produced protons from the molding layer with the hydrophobic acid-labile groups of the patterned photoresist layer to transform a portion of the hydrophobic acid-labile groups into hydrophilic groups, thereby forming a hydrophilic portion on a surface of the patterned photoresist layer; and
removing the molding layer and the hydrophilic portion on the surface of the patterned photoresist layer to reduce a surface roughness of the patterned photoresist layer.