Semiconductors are critical components of modern life, impacting global economies and driving significant technological advances. Due to this, market demand is expected to rise, in addition to increased expectations placed on the manufacturing process.
The rapidly approaching “post-Moore era” has spurred an urgent need for creative approaches to semiconductor design, as the industry can no longer depend on the biennial doubling of transistor density described by Moore’s Law and faces extreme technical barriers to continued advancements under the status quo due to current material limitations. Microchips are getting smaller, resulting in ever-shrinking nanoscale feature sizes that are challenging to achieve without sacrificing performance or production efficiency. As essential elements of the semiconductor manufacturing process, material-intensive photoresist coatings represent high-value targets for innovation.
Although the recent transition to extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography signifies a turning point for the semiconductor industry due to its ability to create patterns at least three times smaller than previous lithographic methods, the continued use of legacy photoresists prevents this technology from maximizing its potential. Next-generation photoresist material development is an essential yet challenging next step to propel long-term global advancements in computing, sustainability, and economic growth.
Photoresist coatings are prime targets for R&D innovation
The composition of photoresist coatings poses several challenges due to potential environmental hazards and less-than-optimal resource usage. The electronics industry will likely face increased pressure from multiple fronts, including government regulations and eco-conscious consumers, to adopt more sustainable semiconductor production norms. Making changes to the materials used in photoresist development would be an impactful step toward more sustainable manufacturing practices. New photoresist material developments must replace existing phenolic resins, fluorinated chemicals, and/or benzene-producing compounds without decreasing performance. This presents opportunities for environmentally smart innovation.
Design improvements to current photoresist coating materials must also address the demand for increasingly high resolution as semiconductor sizes decrease to accommodate device miniaturization. Photoresist coatings that maximize EUV light absorbance would be immensely useful, as legacy photoresists are mainly composed of EUV-transparent elements such as carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Advancements in this arena are rapidly emerging, but there is still a near-infinite potential for further innovation.
Researchers who use CAS solutions have access to comprehensive information to aid in literature review and material development, securing IP protection for their innovations and a tailored digital transformation infrastructure to accelerate their processes.
Uncover key photoresist research insights through efficient literature review
The electronics industry and semiconductor research teams are urgently pursuing new approaches to photoresist design, making it more critical than ever to keep track of the growing body of knowledge. When seeking to create new photoresist formulations, scientists must navigate the literature surrounding the different material choices to find the one most suitable for their application. CAS SciFinder is designed to maximize literature review efforts by honing in on the most relevant and impactful information.
With the CAS SciFinder Discovery PlatformTM, it is easy to keep track of semiconductor industry publication trends for conventional and emerging photoresist materials using targeted search terms.
Despite fluctuating publishing trends, the overall volume of scientific publications related to the three major categories of photoresist materials (resins, sensitizers, and solvents/developers) over the past 50 years underscores the vast amount of information available in the photoresist development field.
CAS SciFinder can narrow down searches within these broad categories to pinpoint specific photoresist materials of interest using precise keywords, such as:
Streamline the literature review process, assess trends, and accelerate the search for improved photoresist coating designs using CAS SciFinder. Our expertly curated literature repository boasts advanced filtering techniques that simplify navigation to your topic of interest, leaving more time for innovation.
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Refine photoresist coating materials for better performance
The materials for new photoresist coatings can affect semiconductor performance. Innovators in this space will need to vet candidate substances to ensure they meet stringent criteria, such as chemical compatibility, photosensitivity or photoactivity, specific physical properties (e.g., high vs. low boiling solvents), and potential to retain high resolution (nanometer level) patterns. Coating homogeneity and uniformity of thickness, especially across large wafers, is another critical contributor to manufacturing yield and semiconductor performance related to the photoresist composition and properties. Without a dedicated resource to help refine prospective materials, the search for candidate molecules could become an insurmountable obstacle.
With CAS SciFinder, you gain access to CAS REGISTRY®, the comprehensive substance collection and chemical data resource trusted by researchers, manufacturers, and regulators worldwide. CAS REGISTRY can help you explore the structural properties of potential photoresist resins, PAGs, solvents, and more. Use filters to narrow your searches by Concept and Substance Role, further refining your search results and allowing you to identify the structure you need for your next innovation. With easy access to related references, reactions, and suppliers, it puts all the important information you need to support your semiconductor photoresist materials research in one place.
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Take advantage of IP support when developing new photoresist materials
Researchers in the semiconductor industry need to protect their cutting-edge photoresist coating developments with the best available IP protection resources. The STN IP Protection SuiteTM can provide tools to efficiently navigate the competitive landscape with comprehensive search solutions, analyses, and personalized support capabilities.
Due to their critical presence in numerous industries, from healthcare to national defense, semiconductors have significant value in the global market, powering trillions of dollars in goods and processes. There is huge potential for innovation in this sector and intense competition to deliver new photoresist solutions to build smaller, higher fidelity chips.
With the STN IP Protection Suite, you can access critical IP insights to examine the photoresist innovation landscape and protect your new semiconductor developments. From exploring comprehensive patent information to creating tailored alerts to stay up-to-date on new filings and research in the electronics industry, working with CAS supports you on your IP protection journey and helps ensure the security of your photoresist materials breakthroughs.
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Streamline your photoresist materials development workflow with AI and digital services
Given the evolving influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in research and scientific industries, implementing a comprehensive digital transformation plan is essential to keep pace. To push the boundaries of photoresist coating advancements, our CAS Custom ServicesSM team can help you build novel AI workflows that accelerate future innovations while decreasing research and development costs. This approach is becoming an essential resource to address some of the most formidable challenges in science, as evidenced by researchers in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries employing AI for successful drug discovery efforts.
The semiconductor industry is similarly well-positioned to benefit from AI and machine learning for materials discovery. A 2022 study leveraged an AI-powered discovery workflow to identify candidate sulfonium-based PAGs with favorable properties to replace less sustainable photoresist components. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Accelerate Innovations in Emerging Technologies program recently funded a project to use machine learning to accelerate the development and validation of new hybrid photoresist materials for EUV patterning, further signaling the promise of digital transformation.
By applying their digital and knowledge management expertise, our CAS Custom Services experts can help you create rationally designed pipelines to address your semiconductor research goals and cut down on development costs. Our team can assist with integrating your data into both the CAS Content CollectionTM and external third-party datasets while providing personalized support to leverage cutting-edge digital solutions of all kinds, including AI and machine learning.
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Drive photoresist development forward to shape the future of technological advancements
As the electronics industry strives to push semiconductor capabilities beyond current limitations, the time is right to invest R&D efforts into innovative photoresist materials development. Although researchers in this sector face many challenges, CAS can help remove roadblocks to discovery by providing advanced literature reviews, comprehensive chemical data resources, IP protection, and digital transformation support. Scientists who use CAS are better equipped to create novel, high-performance photoresist coatings that will enable solutions to device miniaturization and sustainability challenges. Partner with CAS today and accelerate your journey to create the photoresists of tomorrow.