Deprotonation of Poly(4-hydroxystyrene) Intermediates: Pulse Radiolysis Study of Extreme Ultraviolet and Electron Beam Resist

Poly(4-hydroxystyrene) (PHS) has been used in current lithography as a backbone polymer and is also a promising material for EUV and electron beam (EB) lithography. PHS is efficiently deprotonated after the ionization of its radical cation at a low pK a (850 kcal/mol).