3-phenyl-3,3-ethylenedioxy-1-propyl sulfonates as acid amplifiers to enhance the photosensitivity of positive-working photoresists

In the presence of a small amount of acid, 3-phenyl-3,3-ethylenedioxy-1-pro pyl p-toluenesulfonate autocatalytically decomposed to give p-toluenesulfon ic acid both in solution and in a polymer matrix. Such a reaction was succe ssfully applied for the improvement of sensitivity of several positive-work ing chemical-amplification photoresists. It was revealed that the diffusion of the acid plays the most essential role in the sensitivity enhancement, by determining the addition effect of the acid amplifiers with various aren esulfonates on photosensitivity characteristics.