LITHOGRAPHIC PATTERNING OF CONDUCTING POLYMERS AND THEIR COMPOSITES

Intrinsically conducting polymers can be shaped into patterns using a lithographic approach which takes advantage of the photosensitivity of certain oxidants. For this purpose a composite consisting of a photosensitive oxidant and a suitable binder polymer is exposed to visible, UV- or actinic radiation and subsequently developed into a pattern of a conducting composite in a pyrrole vapor. This two-dimensional pattern can either be etched into a three-dimensional structure, or it may be reinforced electrochemically via electroplating a metal on top of the patterned conducting composite. A typical example is the system PVC, Fe(III)-salts and pyrrole.