Thesis (M.Eng., Chemical and Materials Science Engineering) - University of Idaho, 2015 | This project explores polyoxometalate structures for use as EUV lithography photoresists; harnessing the ability to combine organic polymers with inorganic metallic clusters. Organic functionality allows multiple polymerizeable groups to facilitate adjustable cross linkage, while the inorganic metal oxide cores offer variations in electron density and etch resistance. Photoresists of this type could provide the precision and flexibility necessary for the next generations of semiconductor devices. The primary focus of this project was on synthesizing these hybrid materials using the Linqvist type polyoxometalate structure and attaching various organic substituents, such as the polymerizable styryl group. Based on the extensive work done in this area, an improved reaction protocol was developed and a variety of hybrid materials were produced. This thesis seeks to summarize our findings thus far, offer insight into observations made during the synthetic process, and outline future work to be done on this project.
