Dry multilayer inorganic alloy thermal resist for lithographic processing and image creation

A method for creating an inorganic thermal resist, the method comprising:

• depositing on a substrate a first layer of an inorganic thin film comprising a first inorganic material;
• depositing one or more subsequent layers of one or more second inorganic materials;
• and,
• imagewise exposing the first and subsequent layers, the exposing creating, in at least one exposed areas, a resultant material having a melting point below melting points of the first and subsequent layers, the resultant material forming a single continuous phase throughout each exposed area.

A method for creating an inorganic thermal resist, the method comprising:

• depositing on a substrate a first layer of an inorganic thin film comprising a first inorganic material;
• depositing one or more subsequent layers of one or more second inorganic materials;
• and,
• imagewise exposing the first and subsequent layers in at least one exposed area, the exposure creating a resultant material which is a eutectic alloy of the first and second materials, the eutectic alloy forming a single continuous phase throughout each exposed area.

A method for creating an inorganic thermal resist, the method comprising:

• depositing on a substrate a first layer of an inorganic thin film comprising a first inorganic material;
• depositing one or more subsequent layers of one or more second inorganic materials;
• and
• imagewise exposing the first and subsequent layers, the exposing causing one or more reactions with surrounding gases to create one or more oxides, nitrides or hydrides of an alloy of materials of the first and subsequent layers, the reactions creating a resultant material having different etching characteristics from any of the materials of the first and subsequent layers.

A method for creating an inorganic thermal resist, the method comprising:

• depositing on a substrate a first layer comprising a thin film of an inorganic material;
• depositing one or more subsequent layers of another inorganic material or materials;
• and,
• imagewise exposing the layers, the exposing creating a resultant material with different etching characteristics from any of the layers of unexposed materials, wherein the resultant material has optical transmission characteristics different from optical transmission characteristics of the inorganic materials of the first and subsequent layers.

A method of creating an inorganic thermal resist comprising:

• depositing a first layer of an inorganic thin film on a substrate;
• depositing one or more subsequent layers of another inorganic material or materials;
• and,
• imagewise exposing of the layers, the exposing creating a resultant material with different etching characteristics from any of the layers of unexposed materials, wherein the resulting material has optical characteristics different from optical characteristics of materials of the first and subsequent layers such that exposed areas can be readily detected by simple illumination with optical radiation thus creating a visible image on the surface.

A method for creating a patterned resist on a substrate, the method comprising:

• providing on the substrate a first layer of a first material and a second layer of a second material, the first and second materials each having a melting point higher than a melting point of an alloy of the first and second materials;
• imagewise exposing the substrate by heating selected adjoining portions of the first and second layers to imaging temperatures exceeding the melting point of the alloy and thereby causing the first and second layers to melt together to form the alloy in the selected adjoining portions;
• the alloy having different etching characteristics from unexposed portions of the first and second layers;
• and
• providing a protection layer between the substrate and the first layer and, after imagewise exposing the substrate, etching the substrate to remove unexposed portions of the first and second layers, and subsequently removing exposed portions of the protection layer.

A method for creating an inorganic patterned layer, the method comprising:

• depositing a first layer of a first inorganic material on a substrate;
• and
• depositing one or more layers of one or more second inorganic materials on the first layer wherein an alloy of the first and second inorganic materials has a melting temperature lower than melting temperatures of the first inorganic material or any of the second inorganic materials;
• and,
• imagewise exposing the layers and thereby creating a continuous film, the continuous film comprising the layers in unexposed areas and the continuous film comprising a resultant material in exposed areas, the resultant material comprising an alloy of the first and one or more second organic materials.