| abstract |
There is disclosed a sulfonate shown by the following general formula (2).n nR 1 —COOC(CF 3 ) 2 —CH 2 SO 3 − M + (2)n n (In the formula, R 1 represents a linear, a branched, or a cyclic monovalent hydrocarbon group having 1 to 50 carbon atoms optionally containing a hetero atom. M + represents a cation.) There can be provided: a novel sulfonate which is effective for a chemically amplified resist composition having a sufficiently high solubility (compatibility) in a resist solvent and a resin, a good storage stability, a PED stability, a further wider depth of focus, a good sensitivity, in particular a high resolution and a good pattern profile form; a photosensitive acid generator; a resist composition using this; a photomask blank, and a patterning process. |