157 nm lithography resist based on monocyclic fluorinated polymer with a blocking group of cyclohexylcyclohexanoxymethyl (CCOM) was developed. The transmittance Was more than 70% at the resist thickness of 200 nm that corresponds to the absorption coefficient of 0.80 mum(-1) at a 157 nm exposure wavelength. The dry-etching rate was improved 1.75 times that of the KrF resist based on polyhydroxystyrene under the conditions of fluorocarbon-based plasma oxide etching. Furthermore, this resist has higher dissolution rate contrast compared with the polymers with the other blocking groups that we evaluated. The resolution limit of 55 nm lines and spaces pattern was obtained using a 150 nm resist thickness. We found that this monocyclic fluorinated polymer with a blocking group of CCOM simultaneously enabled higher transparency, higher dry-etching resistance, and superior imaging performance. (C) 2003 American Vacuum Society.