RESIST UNDERLAYER COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS OF FORMING PATTERNS WITH SUCH COMPOSITIONS

1 . A resist underlayer composition, comprising:

a polyarylene ether,

an additive polymer that is different from the polyarylene ether, and

a solvent,

wherein the additive polymer comprises an aromatic or heteroaromatic group,

wherein the aromatic group comprises at least one protected or free functional group selected from hydroxy, thiol, and amino.

2 . The resist underlayer composition of claim 1 , wherein the at least one protected or free functional group is hydroxy.

3 . The resist underlayer composition of claim 1 or 2 , wherein the at least one functional group is protected with a protecting group optionally comprising —O—, —NR— (wherein R is hydrogen or C 1-10 alkyl group), —C(═O)—, or a combination thereof.

4 . The resist underlayer composition of claim 3 , wherein the protecting group comprises a formyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted linear or branched C 1-10 alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 3-10 cycloalkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-10 alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-10 alkynyl group, or a combination thereof, wherein the protecting group optionally comprises —O—, —NR— (wherein R is hydrogen or C 1-10 alkyl group), —C(═O)—, or a combination thereof.

5 . The resist underlayer composition of any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the additive polymer comprises a structural unit represented by Formula (I):

wherein, in Formula (I),

Ar is a C 6-40 aromatic organic group or a C 3-40 heteroaromatic organic group;

X and R 1 to R 3 are each independently hydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted C 1-10 alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-10 alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-10 alkynyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 3-10 cycloalkyl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted C 6-20 aryl group;

Y is OR 4 , SR 5 , NR 6 R 7 , or CR 8 R 9 OR 4 , wherein R 4 to R 9 are each independently hydrogen, a formyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 1-5 alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-5 alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-5 alkynyl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted C 3-8 cycloalkyl group, each of which optionally comprises —O—, —NR— (wherein R is hydrogen or C 1-10 alkyl group), —C(═O)—, or a combination thereof, wherein R 6 and R 7 are optionally connected to form a ring, and wherein R 8 and R 9 are optionally connected to form a ring;

L is a single bond or a divalent linking group; and

m and n are each independently an integer from 1 to 20, provided that a sum of m and n does not exceed the total number of atoms of Ar available for substitution with X and Y.

6 . The resist underlayer composition of any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the additive polymer comprises a structural unit represented by Formula (II):

wherein, in Formula (II),

Ar is a C 6-40 aromatic organic group or a C 3-40 heteroaromatic organic group;

X, R 1 , and R 2 are each independently hydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted C 1-10 alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-10 alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-10 alkynyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 3-10 cycloalkyl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted C 6-20 aryl group;

Y is OR 4 , SR 5 , NR 6 R 7 , or CR 8 R 9 OR 4 , wherein R 4 to R 9 are each independently hydrogen, a formyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 1-5 alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-5 alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-5 alkynyl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted C 3-8 cycloalkyl group, each of which optionally comprises —O—, —NR— (wherein R is hydrogen or C 1-10 alkyl group), —C(═O)—, or a combination thereof, wherein R 6 and R 7 are optionally connected to form a ring, and wherein R 8 and R 9 are optionally connected to form a ring; and

m and n are each independently an integer from 1 to 20, provided that a sum of m and n does not exceed the total number of atoms of Ar available for substitution with X and Y.

7 . The resist underlayer composition of any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the additive polymer comprises a structural unit represented by Formula (III):

wherein, in Formula (III),

Ar is a C 6-40 aromatic organic group or a C 3-40 heteroaromatic organic group;

X is hydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted C 1-10 alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-10 alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-10 alkynyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 3-10 cycloalkyl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted C 6-20 aryl group;

Y is OR 4 , SR 5 , NR 6 R 7 , or CR 8 R 9 OR 4 , wherein R 4 to R 9 are each independently hydrogen, a formyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 1-5 alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-5 alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C 2-5 alkynyl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted C 3-8 cycloalkyl group, each of which optionally comprises —O—, —NR— (wherein R is hydrogen or C 1-10 alkyl group), —C(═O)—, or a combination thereof, wherein R 6 and R 7 are optionally connected to form a ring, and wherein R 8 and R 9 are optionally connected to form a ring; and

m and n are each independently an integer from 1 to 20, provided that a sum of m and n does not exceed the total number of atoms of Ar available for substitution with X and Y.

8 . The resist underlayer composition of any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein an amount of the additive polymer is 0.1 to 20 weight percent based on the total weight of solids in the composition.

9 . A method of forming a pattern, the method comprising: (a) applying a layer of the resist underlayer composition of any one of claims 1 to 8 over a substrate; (b) curing the applied resist underlayer composition to form a resist underlayer; and (c) forming a photoresist layer over the resist underlayer.

10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising forming a silicon-containing layer and/or an organic antireflective coating layer above the resist underlayer prior to forming the photoresist layer.

11 . The method of claim 9 or 10 , further comprising patterning the photoresist layer and transferring the pattern from the patterned photoresist layer to the resist underlayer and to a layer below the resist underlayer.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein transferring the pattern comprises a wet chemical etch process.