PHOTORESIST UNDERLAYER COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS OF FORMING ELECTRONIC DEVICES

1 . A photoresist underlayer composition, comprising:

a curable compound comprising a group of the following formula (1):

wherein: R 1 is each independently H, C 1-30 alkyl, or C 3-30 cycloalkyl; Ar 1 is an aromatic ring or a fused aromatic ring system having from 5 to 30 carbon atoms, wherein Ar 1 is substituted or unsubstituted; Ar 2 is an aromatic ring chosen from a 6-membered carbocyclic aromatic ring, a 5- or 6-membered heteroaromatic ring, or a fused aromatic ring system having from 5 to 30 carbon atoms, wherein Ar 2 optionally comprises a fused cyclic imide moiety, a fused oxazole moiety, a fused imidazole moiety, or a fused thiazole moiety, and wherein Ar 2 is substituted or unsubstituted; Y 1 is a single covalent bond, or is selected from —O—, —C(O)—, —C(O)O—, —S—, —S(O) 2 —, —N(R 2 )—, —C(O)N(R 2 )—, —C(O)N(R 2 )C(O)—, —(CH 2 ) y —, or a combination thereof, wherein R 2 is H, C 1-10 alkyl, C 2-10 unsaturated hydrocarbyl, C 5-30 aryl, C(O)R 3 , or S(O) 2 R 3 , wherein R 3 is chosen from H, C 1-10 alkyl, C 2-10 unsaturated hydrocarbyl, and C 5-30 aryl, and y is an integer from 1 to 6; x 1 is an integer from 2 to 5; and * denotes a binding site to a part of the curable compound other than the group represented by formula (1), provided that no two

groups are in an orto position to each other on Ar 1 , wherein ** denotes the point of attachment to an aromatic ring carbon of Ar 1 ; and

a solvent.

2 . The photoresist underlayer composition of claim 1 , wherein Ar 1 is pyridine, benzene, naphthalene, acenaphthylene, quinoline, isoquinoline, fluorene, carbazole, anthracene, phenanthrene, pyrene, coronene, triphenylene, chrysene, phenalene, benz[a]anthracene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, or pentacene.

3 . The photoresist underlayer composition of claim 1 , wherein Ar 1 is a C 6 carbocyclic aromatic ring.

4 . The photoresist underlayer composition of claim 1 , wherein R 1 is H.

5 . The photoresist underlayer composition of claim 1 , wherein the curable compound is of the following formula (2):

wherein: R 1 and R 4 are each independently H, C 1-30 alkyl, or C 3-30 cycloalkyl; Ar 1 is each independently an aromatic ring or a fused aromatic ring system having from 5 to 30 carbon atoms, wherein Ar 1 is substituted or unsubstituted; Ar 2 is each independently an aromatic ring chosen from a 6-membered carbocyclic aromatic ring, a 5- or 6-membered heteroaromatic ring, or a fused aromatic ring system having from 5 to 30 carbon atoms, wherein Ar 2 optionally comprises a fused cyclic imide moiety, and wherein Ar 2 is substituted or unsubstituted; Y 1 is each independently a single covalent bond, or is independently selected from —O—, —C(O)—, —C(O)O—, —S—, —S(O) 2 —, —N(R 2 )—, —C(O)N(R 2 )—, —C(O)N(R 2 )C(O)—, —(CH 2 ) y —, or a combination thereof, wherein R 2 is H, C 1-10 -alkyl, C 2-10 -unsaturated hydrocarbyl, C 5-30 -aryl, C(O)R 3 , or S(O) 2 R 3 , wherein R 3 is chosen from H, C 1-10 -alkyl, C 2-10 -unsaturated hydrocarbyl, and C 5-30 -aryl, and y is an integer from 1 to 6; x 1 is an integer from 1 to 5, provided that x 1 is an integer from 2 to 5 for at least one

group, and no two

groups are in an ortho position to each other on Ar 1 , wherein ** denotes the point of attachment to an aromatic ring carbon of Ar 1 ; x 2 is an integer from 1 to 5; x 3 is an integer from 0 to 5; and Y 2 is a single covalent bond, or an atom or group having a valency of x 2 +x 3 .

6 . The photoresist underlayer composition of claim 1 , comprising a first organic solvent and a second organic solvent that is different than the first organic solvent, wherein the first organic solvent has a boiling point of less than 200° C. and the second organic solvent has a boiling point of 200 ° C. or greater.

7 . The photoresist underlayer composition of claim 1 , further comprising a curing agent, a surface leveling agent, or a flow additive.

8 . The photoresist underlayer composition of claim 1 , further comprising a polymer.

9 . The photoresist underlayer composition of claim 1 , further comprising a crosslinker.

10 . A coated substrate, comprising:

an electronic device substrate;

a photoresist underlayer formed from the photoresist underlayer composition of any one of claim 1 on a surface of the electronic device substrate; and

a photoresist composition layer over the photoresist underlayer.

11 . A method of forming an electronic device, comprising:

(a) providing an electronic device substrate;

(b) coating a layer of the photoresist underlayer composition of claim 1 on a surface of the electronic device substrate; and

(c) curing the layer of the photoresist underlayer composition to form a photoresist underlayer.

12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

(d) forming a photoresist layer over the photoresist underlayer;

(e) patternwise exposing the photoresist layer to activating radiation;

(f) developing the exposed photoresist layer to form a pattern in the photoresist layer; and

(g) transferring the pattern to the photoresist underlayer.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising coating one or more of a silicon-containing layer, an organic antireflective coating layer, or a combination thereof over the photoresist underlayer before step (d).

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising transferring the pattern to the one or more of the silicon-containing layer, the organic antireflective coating layer, or the combination thereof after step (f) and before step (g).

15 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

(h) transferring the pattern to a layer of the electronic device substrate below the patterned photoresist underlayer; and

(i) removing the patterned photoresist underlayer.