Three‐component photopolymer based on a novel mechanism: acid‐catalyzed polymerization and decoupling of crosslinks

Abstract

AbstractThree‐component photopolymers comprising a photoacid generator, a bifunctional vinyl ether monomer and an aqueous base‐soluble polymer as matrix were developed. These photopolymers exhibit either positive‐ or negative‐working character, depending on the prebake temperature and the concentration of the photoacid generator. When the prebake temperature is high, the photo‐polymer film is made insoluble in aqueous base and organic solvents by the formation of crosslinks. However, on exposure to light, the crosslinks are decoupled by the photogenerated acid and the photopolymer layer becomes again soluble in aqueous base, resulting in a positive‐working character. When the concentration of the photoacid generator is low enough, the photopolymer has a negative‐working character due to the cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers. The mechanism of the photochemical reaction of the photopolymers was investigated to elucidate the complicated behavior.