Patent 7510817 was granted and assigned to JSR Corporation on March, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The present invention is directed to the preparation of photoresist polymers via living free radical polymerization techniques. Sterically bulky ester monomers are utilized as the polymerization components. Use of chain transfer agents is included in polymerization processing conditions. Cleavage of polymer terminal end groups that include a heteroatom are described.