The present invention includes polymers and photoresist compositions that
comprise the polymers as a resin binder component. Photoresists of the
invention include chemically-amplified positive-acting resists that can be
effectively imaged at short wavelengths such as sub-200 nm, particularly
193 nm. Polymers of the invention suitably contain 1) photoacid labile
groups that preferably contain an alicyclic moiety; 2) a polymerized
electron-deficient monomer; 3) a polymerized cyclic olefin moiety.
Particularly preferred polymers of the invention are tetrapolymers or
pentapolymers, preferably with differing polymerized norbornene units.
