Patent ID: 6291145
Filing Date: 2001-09-18
Classification: G03F

Abstract:
A method for forming an image of a projected pattern on a photosensitive material by exposure to an illumination light, the method comprising the steps:(a) providing a photosensitive material that comprises (i) a first compound that, upon exposure to the illumination light, produces a radical, and (ii) a second compound that reacts with the radical or reacts with a reactive intermediate formed by reaction of a third compound with the radical to form a latent image, the photosensitive material exhibiting a non-linear photosensitivity characteristic in which the latent image reaction density increases according to the m.sup.th power (m>1) of the intensity of the illumination light;(b) applying the photosensitive material to a substrate to form a photosensitive substrate, and placing the photosensitive substrate relative to a mask and the illumination light to allow the illumination light to project a pattern, defined by the mask, onto the photosensitive substrate;(c) in the presence of a radical deactivator, performing a first exposure of the photosensitive substrate with the projected mask pattern as projected by the illumination light; and(d) performing a second exposure of the photosensitive substrate with the mask pattern, as projected by the illumination light, while changing the exposure-intensity distribution on the photosensitive material with each exposure, wherein the radical produced by the first exposure is substantially deactivated at the time of the second exposure.