A new intermediate layer material, silyl ether of novolak (Si–novolak), and a new Si containing resist, silyl ether of a naphthoquinone diazide ester of novolak, Si–LMR (low molecular weight resist), have been developed for trilevel and bilevel resist systems, respectively. Si–novolak has high O2‐reactive ion etching (RIE) resistivity and high solubility in nonpolar solvents, such as xylene and chlorobenzene, which cause no damage to the film of novolak. When novolak and Si–novolak are employed as the bottom and intermediate layer materials, respectively, both layers can be formed by successive coatings without baking the bottom layer. Si–novolak is easily hardened by deep UV light. Therefore, a trilevel resist can be formed by one deep UV blanket exposure and one baking step, besides coating steps. The triresist system, LMR/Si–novolak/novolak, provides 0.5 μm resist patterns with steep profiles and good line control over topography. Si–LMR is a negative deep UV resist and its sensitivity is 100 mJ/cm2. The O2‐RIE selectivity of Si–LMR to AZ‐2400 is larger than 15. The bilevel resist system, Si–LMR/AZ‐2400, clearly generates 0.5‐μm‐wide patterns with an aspect ratio of 4.