Patent ID: 8685629

Claim:
A resist pattern forming process comprising the steps of: (i) coating a chemically amplified positive resist composition onto a processable substrate, the resist composition comprising (A) a base resin having an acidic functional group protected with an acid labile group, which is substantially alkali insoluble, but turns alkali soluble when the acid labile group is eliminated, (B) an acid generator, (C) a nitrogen-containing compound as a basic component, and (D) an organic solvent, and prebaking to remove an excess of the solvent and form a resist film, (ii) exposing the resist film imagewise to high-energy radiation, (iii) optionally baking and developing with a developer to form a resist pattern, and (iv) heating the developed pattern for pattern profile correction to such an extent that the line width of the developed pattern may not undergo a change of at least 10%, said resist composition further comprising (E) a softening accelerator having an acidic functional group protected with an acid labile group and a molecular weight of up to 800 in an amount of 2.5% to 20% by weight based on the total solids of the resist composition.