Patent ID: 7910290

Claim:
A method, comprising: (a) forming a photoresist layer over a substrate; (b) spinning applying a solution of a topcoat composition in a casting solvent on said photoresist layer and removing said casting solvent to form a topcoat layer over said photoresist layer, wherein said topcoat composition comprises a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane based material; (c) exposing said photoresist to radiation through a photomask having opaque and clear regions, said opaque regions blocking said radiation and said clear regions being transparent to said radiation, said radiation changing the chemical composition of regions of said photoresist layer exposed to said radiation forming exposed and unexposed regions in said photoresist layer; and (d) either removing (i) all of said topcoat composition followed by removing said exposed regions of said photoresist layer to form a pattern in said photoresist layer or (ii) removing all of said topcoat composition followed by removing said unexposed regions of said photoresist layer to form said pattern in said photoresist layer.