High-speed curing by laser irradiation

Laser-assisted processing of multifunctional systems is a very efficient method for achieving high-speed curing of photosensitive resins. With acrylate functionalized monomers and polymers, crosslinking was achieved upon a few millisecond exposure to a UV laser beam, in the presence of a radical-type photoinitiator. The polymerization reaction was followed in real-time by infrared spectroscopy and shown to proceed with long kinetic chains (up to 20,000 functional groups polymerized per initiating radical). An acrylate functionalized polyester proved to be the most reactive system, with formation of a tightly cross-linked and strickly insoluble polymer. Its high sensitivity makes this photoresist particularly well suited for laser direct imaging applications. Similar results have been obtained with epoxy and vinyl ether functionalized polymers, which undergo a fast cationic polymerization in the presence of a photogenerated protonic acid. Interpenetrating polymer networks have been synthetized by laser irradiation of blends of acrylate and epoxy-functionalized oligomers to obtain polymers that combine the elastomeric character of cross-linked polyurethanes and the toughness of epoxy polymers. These laser-sensitive polymers are to be used as photoresists to produce microcircuits, as protective coatings of optical fibers, as recording media in holography and as photocurable resins in stereolithography. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.