| abstract |
The present invention provides acid labile protecting groups that can be utilized to protect one or more monomeric units of a polymeric constituent of a photoresist composition suitable for use in lithography. For example, in one embodiment, the acid labile protecting group is selected to be t-butoxymethyl which can be employed to protect, e.g., a hydroxystyrene or an acrylic acid moiety. The photoresist compositions of the invention can be utilized at any wavelength suitable for lithography, and particularly, at wavelengths below 248 nm, e.g., 157 nm. |