Non-stick photoresist laminate

Abstract

A photoresist laminate includes a substrate (such as PET film having a thickness of between about 0.002-0.003 inches) with first and second faces, a first film layer, and a second layer. The first film layer is a photoresist material (radiation sensitive) which is soluble or dispersible in water but which will harden upon sufficient exposure to radiation so as to become substantially insoluble or non-dispersible. The first film layer may be of any conventional photoresist material (e.g. having a thickness of about 0.002-0.009 inches) and is operatively disposed on the substrate first face (either directly connecting it or connected to a membrane support layer which in turn is directly connected to the substrate first face). The second layer is of a material and thickness so that it substantially prevents sticking of the first film layer to other surfaces, while not significantly interfering with the radiation sensitivity thereof. The second layer is on the opposite side of the first film layer from the substrate, and may comprise a mixture of polyvinyl alcohol solution and polyvinyl acetate emulsion, having a thickness of less than 0.0005 inches (e.g. about 0.0001-0.0002 inches). The laminate is used in a method of making a stencil for abrading or etching by exposing the laminate to radiation, processing a laminate by spraying water on the laminate to remove the soluble or dispersible portion, and then using the stencil so formed as a mask on the surface of an object to etch or abrade the surface.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.