THE DISCOVERY of a new polymer which changes from an electrical in sulator to a conductor when exposed to light may provide a cheap method of manufacturing integrated circuits, according to a chemist from the University of California, Berkeley. Bruce Novak told the American Chemical Society's national meeting in Washington recently that he has developed a one-step process for printing circuits.
Novak and his co-workers have synthesised a photo resistant polymer called arylated poly (p-phenylene sulfide) or APPS. They found that when thin films of APPS are exposed to light they become permanent conductors, while the unexposed regions remain as insulators.
It is this unique ability of APPS, he said, which allows indelible, high resolution, electrically conducting circuitry to be imprinted directly onto the film. Many conductive polymers already exist, but APPS is unusual because of the fact that it is cheap and easy to make, and the method of ...
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