Photoresist process and photosensitive O-quinone diazide article with aliphatic carboxylic acid as adhesion promotor

Claim 1

A process for forming a resist mask pattern on a silicon substrate having a surface coating selected from the group consisting of silicon oxide, phosphosilicate glass, sputtered quartz and metal comprising: coating the surface coating with a layer of radiation sensitive polymer resist composition consisting essentially of a novolak resin and a diazo ketone sensitizer having the formula ##STR3## in which R 1 is a naphthoquinone (1,2) diazide radical, R 2 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and hydroxyl, and R 3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl, acyl, alkoxy, acyloxy, amino, and heterocyclic groups, in proportions of between about 1:1 and 1:6 weight of sensitizer to resin and from about 1 to 11% by weight of solids in the resist of an aliphatic carboxylic acid containing from about 3 to 30 carbon atoms, exposing said layer patternwise to actinic radiation for said sensitizer, and removing the exposed portions of said layer with a solvent developer for the actinic radiation exposed polymer resist composition to uncover the areas of the substrate surface beneath the exposed portions of the resist layer.