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A model was developed for predicting the collapse behavior of photoresist structures due to the drying of rinse liquids during wet chemical processing. The magnitude of the capillary forces was estimated using the classical thermodynamics of surface tension, and the deformation of the structure was modeled using beam bending mechanics that accounts for both elastic and plastic modes of deformation. The two-dimensional model can predict the critical beam height of collapse as a function of the wetting behavior of the rinse liquid on the beam, the elastic and plastic mechanical properties of the polymeric photoresist, and the beam dimensions. Collapse behavior was predicted for polymer nanostructures with elastoplastic mechanical properties similar to those of bulk poly(methyl methacrylate). We have compared the collapse predictions from our model with the results of models that account only for elastic or plastic deformation behavior. Regimes in the elastic-plastic mechanical property space for which it is necessary to use the developed beam bending model have been highlighted. It is shown that in some cases the inclusion of both elastic and plastic mechanical properties is necessary for modeling the collapse behavior of polymer beams fabricated using the lithographic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work a novel Monte Carlo method is developed to simulate the equilibrium thermodynamic properties of strongly associating fluids. The highly anisotropic nature of intermolecular interactions in these fluids makes conventional simulation techniques of little use. By introducing biased sampling techniques we are able to explore configuration space efficiently, thereby obtaining reliable estimates for the thermodynamic properties, including phase equilibria, of model systems. The results of our simulations are used to assess the accuracy and validity of various theories for associating fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]