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The imaging reactions of resist materials used for nano-patterning have become radiation-chemical reactions, with the shortening of wavelengths of the exposure light sources in lithography systems. The most widely used patterning materials in industrial lithography are chemically amplified resists (CAR). Understanding the deprotonation mechanism of ionized polymers (radical cations) is important for acid generation in CARs. In this study, the dynamics of radical cations in poly(4-hydroxystyrene) (PHS)–type resist polymers, partially and totally protected by tert-butoxycarbonyl (t-BOC) groups, are investigated using a combination of electron pulse radiolysis experiments, acid yield measurements, and quantum chemical calculations. The t-BOC(oxy) group exhibits π-electron-donating behavior in the monomer cation but changes to electron-accepting behavior in the polymer cation, owing to the interaction between substituents. The destabilization of radical cations due to decreased intramolecular charge resonance may contribute to the high deprotonation efficiency of t-BOC-capped PHS polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flexible waste management (FWM) system has been proposed in order to apply the partitioning and transmutation (P&T) technology for minor actinides (MA) to the current high-level liquid waste (HLLW). This system consists of HLLW calcination to produce easy-to-dissolve granule; its temporary storage is required until the P&T technology deployment and re-dissolution of the granule to remove MA from HLLW after the future P&T technology deployment. The fundamental experiments were conducted to clarify the applicability of FWM system to the current HLLW, and the results indicate the technological validity of the system. The evaluations were carried out for the reduction of storage amount, potential radiotoxicity, and repository area of high-level waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]