Coating the substrate with an amorphous polymer layer is a very common process in the manufacturing of integrated circuits, but the fundamental spin‐coating mechanism has not yet been precisely determined. This study examines the influence of the macromolecular characteristics on the spin‐coating process both experimentally and from a phenomenological point of view. It is concluded that the weight‐average molecular weight of the spun‐on solution is a pertinent parameter, and that chain entanglements in polymer solutions may be considered as the basic phenomenon responsible for the formation of the solid polymer layer.

Photoresist planarization properties are shown to be improved by a subsequent thermal cure. In order to understand the effects of thermal processing on photoresists, this paper discusses their thermal chemistry in relation to their thermal flow properties. The photoactive compound (PAC) is shown to hinder the thermal flow of the photoresist by ester‐linkage up to the temperature where the resin undergoes complete thermal cross‐linking. Transformation of the PAC by a suitable exposure to UV light will let the resin flow up to its own limits. The thermal flow behavior is shown to be dependent on the feature size. The thickness shrinking due to the loss of weight occurring all along the thermal cure is shown to degrade the planarization properties and to compete with thermal flow.

Moisture retention in various substituted novolake resins has been investigated by differential scanning calorimetric analysis. Water molecules leave the polymer network in a two step drying process. The first one occurs at T < Tg, the second at T > T, and requires an external energy supply. The energy recorded in the second drying step indicates the presence of a dipolar link. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG:In verschiedenen Novolaken wurde der Feuchtigkeitsgehalt durch Differentialkalorimetrie bestimmt. Wassermolekule verlassen das polymere Netzwerk in einem zweistufigen TrocknungsprozeR. Die erste Abspaltung findet bei einer Temperatur T < T, statt, die zweite ist ein endothermer ProzeR und beginnt bei einer Temperatur T > Tg. Die Energieaufnahme in dem zweiten TrockenprozeR gibt Hinweise auf die Existenz einer Dipolarbindung.

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