Patent ID: 7776516

Claim:
A method of forming a device, comprising: forming one or more amorphous carbon layers on a substrate; forming a silicon-containing, oxygen-containing, and carbon-containing anti-reflective coating layer on the one or more amorphous carbon layers wherein the silicon-containing, oxygen-containing, and carbon-containing anti-reflective coating layer has an absorption coefficient that varies across the thickness of the silicon-containing, oxygen-containing, and carbon-containing anti-reflective coating layer, and a refractive index at the bottom of the silicon-containing, oxygen-containing, and carbon-containing anti-reflective coating layer substantially matches a refractive index of the one or more amorphous carbon layers; forming a first layer of energy sensitive resist material on the silicon-containing, oxygen-containing, and carbon-containing anti-reflective coating layer, wherein a refractive index of the first layer of energy sensitive resist material substantially matches a refractive index of a top surface of the silicon-containing, oxygen-containing, and carbon-containing anti-reflective coating layer; introducing an image of a pattern into the first layer of energy sensitive resist material by exposing the energy sensitive resist material to patterned radiation; and developing the image of the pattern introduced into the first layer of energy sensitive resist material.