He is known for innovations in the chemistry of photolithography, particularly the development of anti-reflective coatings and polymer photoresists that are used to create circuitry for computer chips.
[1] Trefonas became interested in electronic materials after working with West and chip makers from IBM to create organosilicon bilayer photoresists.
Trefonas has helped to overcome a number of apparent limits to the sizes that are achievable, developing photoresists that are responsive to 436-nm and 365-nm ultraviolet light, and as small as 193 nm deep.
Light that is used to form the latent image in the photoresist film can reflect back from the substrate and compromise feature contrast and profile shape.
Controlling interference from reflected light results in the formation of a sharper pattern with less variability and a larger process window.
[23] In 2014, Trefonas and others at Dow were named Heroes of Chemistry by the American Chemical Society, for the development of Fast Etch Organic Bottom Antireflective Coatings (BARCs).
Peter Trefonas was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2018 for the "invention of photoresist materials and microlithography methods underpinning multiple generations of microelectronics".
DuPont Company in 2019 recognized Trefonas with its top recognition, the Lavoisier Medal, for "commercialized electronic chemicals which enabled customers to manufacture integrated circuits with higher density and faster speeds".