3-COMPONENT PHOTOPOLYMERS BASED ON THERMAL CROSS-LINKING AND ACIDOLYTIC DE-CROSS-LINKING OF VINYL ETHER GROUPS - EFFECTS OF BINDER POLYMERS ON PHOTOPOLYMER CHARACTERISTICS

A series of terpolymers with carboxyl and aliphatic alcohol groups in the side chain were synthesized and used for the three-component photopolymers, consisting of the terpolymer as a binder, the vinyl ether monomer, and a photoacid generator. These photopolymers act as a positive working photoresist with the process of prebaking, exposure to light, and postexposure baking. The effect of the physical properties of the polymers, such as acid value, molecular weight, acid component, and glass transition temperature on the characteristics of the photopolymer, including the thermal cross-linking reactivity and the sensitivity due to acidolytic de-cross-linking, was investigated. An increase in the acid value and molecular weight and decrease of glass transition temperature in the binder polymer increase the insolubilization rate based on the thermal cross-linking reaction. An increase in the acid value and glass transition temperature and a decrease in the molecular weight enhance the sensitivity of the positive resist based on the chemically amplified de-cross-linking reaction. A positive working photoresist with a sensitivity of 0.7 mJ/cm(2) and a high gamma value was obtained by optimizing the structure of the terpolymer.