Abstract: The invention relates to using VLSI techniques to store information on a substrate. One embodiment of a die with text deposited upon the die uses semiconductor processing techniques during fabrication. Included in the die are a substrate, a first paragraph and a second paragraph. The first and second paragraphs are in contact with the substrate. The second paragraph is aligned with the first paragraph in a column.

Abstract: A silver halide emulsion is described, comprising at least a dispersion medium and silver halide grains, wherein said silver halide grains have an average grain size of from 0.005 to 0.1 &mgr;m and a hexacyano metal complex represented by formula (I) is present on the outermost surface of the silver halide grain: [M(CN)6]n−  (I) wherein M represents Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, Ir, Cr or Re, and n represents 3 or 4. Also described are a method for producing the emulsion, and a silver halide light-sensitive material and a photothermographic material using the emulsion.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a polymer which has excellent reactivity, rigidity and adhesion to the substrate, and undergoes a low degree of swelling during development, a resist material which uses this polymer as the base resin and hence exhibits much higher resolving power and etching resistance than conventional resist materials, and a pattern formation method using this resist material. Specifically, the present invention provides a novel polymer containing repeating units represented by the following general formula (1-1) or (1-2) and having a weight-average molecular weight of 1,000 to 500,000, a resist material using the polymer as a base resin, and a pattern formation method using the resist material.

Abstract: A chemical amplifying type positive resist composition, excellent in balance of performance of resolution and sensitivity, having high dry etching resistance and comprising; a resin having a polymerization unit derived from a monomer represented by the following formula (I): wherein R1 and R2 independently represent hydrogen or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbons, and R3 represents hydrogen or a methyl group, the resin being insoluble in alkali itself but becoming alkali-soluble due to the action of an acid; and an acid generating agent is provided.

Abstract: A photosensitive polymer including a copolymer of an acrylate or methacrylate monomer having a group indicated by the following formula (I), a comonomer selected from a maleic anhydride monomer and a cyclic vinyl ether monomer, and a resist composition including the same. In the formula, R1, R2, R3, and R4 are independently a hydrogen atom, a C1-C4 alkyl group, a C1-C4 alkoxy group, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, a phenoxy group, or —M(R′)3, M is Si, Ge, Sn, or OSi, and each R′ independently is a C1-C4 alkyl group, a C1-C4 alkoxy group, a phenyl group, or a phenoxy group.

Abstract: A polymer comprising recurring units of formula (1) and/or (2) wherein R1 and R2 are H, C1-15 alkyl, acyl or alkylsulfonyl or C2-15 alkoxycarbonyl or alkoxyalkyl which may have halogen substituents; R3 and R4 are H, C1-15 alkyl or alkoxy or C2-15, alkoxyalkyl which may have halogen substituents, and R3 and R4 may together bond with the carbon atom to form an aliphatic ring, or R3 and R4, taken together, may be an oxygen atom; and k=0 or 1, and having a Mw of 1,000-500,000 is novel. A resist composition comprising the polymer as a base resin is sensitive to high-energy radiation, has excellent sensitivity, resolution, etching resistance, and minimized swell and lends itself to micropatterning with electron beams or deep-UV.

Abstract: A coating composition for a chemically amplified positive resist includes (A) an acid generator which generates an acid upon irradiation with active light or radiant ray, (B) a resin ingredient which exhibits increased solubility in an alkaline aqueous solution by action of an acid, (C) an organic solvent, and (D) an octanone in a proportion of from 0.1 to 5 parts by weight relative to 100 parts by weight of the ingredient (B). Using this coating composition, a method of patterning a resist. The coating composition and the method can yield a positive resist having improved definition and depth of focus.

Abstract: The present invention provides a photosensitive composition comprising an infrared absorbing agent represented by the following formula (I) and a polymer compound which is insoluble in water and soluble in an aqueous alkali solution and becoming soluble in an aqueous alkali solution by radiation of an infrared laser. In the formula described below, R1 and R2 independently represent an alkyl group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms or an alkyl group having 9 to 30 carbon atoms and Z represents a heptamethine group which may have a substituent. The definitions of other substituents are shown in the specification. According to the present invention, a photosensitive composition having high development latitude and storage stability, together with a positive type planographic printing plate for direct plate-making which can form an image with high sensitivity by using an infrared laser, are provided.

Abstract: The invention provides a polymer comprising recurring units of formula (1—1) or (1-2) wherein k is 0 or 1, m is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4, and n is 1 or 2 and having a weight average molecular weight of 1,000 to 500,000. A resist composition comprising the polymer as a base resin is sensitive to high-energy radiation, has excellent sensitivity, resolution, and etching resistance, and lends itself to micropatterning with electron beams or deep-UV.

Abstract: The invention relates to a photopolymerizable recording element and process for preparing flexographic printing forms, whereby the photo-polymerizable recording element comprises a support, at least one photo-polymerizable layer, an adhesive wax layer, and a layer sensitive to infrared radiation and opaque to actinic radiation.

Abstract: A method for patterning of resist surfaces which is particularly advantageous for systems having low photon flux and highly energetic, strongly attenuated radiation. A thin imaging layer is created with uniform silicon distribution in a bilayer format. An image is formed by exposing selected regions of the silylated imaging layer to radiation. The radiation incident upon the silyliated resist material results in acid generation which either catalyzes cleavage of Si—O bonds to produce moieties that are volatile enough to be driven off in a post exposure bake step or produces a resist material where the exposed portions of the imaging layer are soluble in a basic solution, thereby desilylating the exposed areas of the imaging layer. The process is self limiting due to the limited quantity of silyl groups within each region of the pattern. Following the post exposure bake step, an etching step, generally an oxygen plasma etch, removes the resist material from the de-silylated areas of the imaging layer.

Abstract: A thermally imagable article comprises a substrate on which is coated a positive working heat-sensitive composition comprising a hydroxyl group-containing polymer and a heat-labile moiety which decreases the developer solubility of the composition as compared to the developer solubility of the composition without the heat-labile moiety, wherein the heat-sensitive composition does not comprise an acid generating moiety. The invention also provides novel positive working compositions comprising heat-labile moieties, and imagable articles comprising said compositions.

Abstract: A positive type actinic ray-curable (dry film having, on the surface of a non-actinic ray-curable substrate, a solid positive type actinic ray-curable urethane resin layer formed from (1) a resin composition containing, as essential components, (A1) an ether linkage-containing olefinicaly unsaturated compound, (B1), an acid group-containing urethane resin having a weight average molecular weight of 1,000 to 200,000 and an acid group content in the range of 0.

Abstract: A polymer comprising recurring units of formula (1-1) or (1-2) wherein R1 and R2 are H or C1-15 alkyl, R1 and R2, taken together, may form a ring; R3 is H, C1-15 alkyl, acyl or alkylsulfonyl or C2-15 alkoxycarbonyl or alkoxyalkyl which may have halogen substituents, not all R1, R2 and R3 are hydrogen; and k=0 or 1, and having a Mw of 1,000-500,000 is novel. A resist composition comprising the polymer as a base resin is sensitive to high-energy radiation, has excellent sensitivity, resolution, etching resistance, and minimized swell and lends itself to micropatterning with electron beams or deep-UV.

Abstract: A base material for a lithographic printing plate comprising a support, a hydrophilic organic polymer compound that is chemically bonded to a surface of the support, and an ionic compound that is ionically bonded to the hydrophilic organic polymer compound; and a lithographic printing plate comprising the base material and an image forming layer provided thereon.

Abstract: A resist composition contains as a base resin a polymer represented by the following formula and having a Mw of 1,000-500,000. R1 is H, methyl or CO2R2, R2 is alkyl, R3 is H, methyl or CH2CO2R2, at least one of R4 to R7 is a carboxyl or hydroxyl-containing monovalent hydrocarbon group, and the reminders are independently H or alkyl, at least one of R8 to R11 is a monovalent hydrocarbon group of 2 to 15 carbon atoms containing a —CO2— partial structure, and the reminders are independently H or alkyl, R12 is a polycyclic hydrocarbon group or an alkyl group containing such a polycyclic hydrocarbon group, R13 is an acid labile group, Z is a divalent group of atoms to construct a 5- or 6-membered ring which contains a carboxylate, carbonate or acid anhydride therein, k is 0 or 1, x is a number from more than 0 to 1, “a” to “d” are from 0 to less than 1, x+a+b+c+d=1.

Abstract: A method for the controlled aging of a photoresist which provides an aged photoresist that has a targeted photospeed which is faster than a conventional unaged photoresist is provided. Specifically, the inventive method includes the step of aging a solution containing at least a photoresist resin composition at a temperature below the thermal decomposition of the photoresist resin composition, but not below 20° C., for a time period that is effective in achieving a targeted photospeed which is faster than a photospeed of an unaged photoresist.

Abstract: A waterless planographic printing plate precursor which has a support member, a light-to-heat conversion layer for converting laser light to heat, and a silicone rubber layer. The light-to-heat conversion layer is contains at least one kind of polyurethane having at least one carboxyl group, and at least one light-to-heat conversion substance.

Abstract: This invention comprises a silver halide photographic element comprising a support with low oxygen permeability and at least one silver halide emulsion layer containing a fragmentable electron donating compound of the formula: X—Y′ or a compound which contains a moiety of the formula —X—Y′; wherein X is an electron donor moiety, Y′ is a leaving proton H or a leaving group Y, with the proviso that if Y′ is a proton, a base, &bgr;−, is present in the emulsion layer, and wherein: 1) X—Y′ has an oxidation potential between 0 and about 1.4 V; and 2) the oxidized form of X—Y′ undergoes a bond cleavage reaction to give the radical X• and the leaving fragment Y′; and, optionally, 3) the radical X• has an oxidation potential≦−0.7V (that is, equal to or more negative than about −0.7V).

Abstract: An imaging member, such as a negative-working printing plate or on-press cylinder, comprises latex polymer-carbon black composite particles. Such imaging members can be prepared with a hydrophilic imaging layer comprised of a heat-sensitive hydrophilic polymer having ionic moieties and the latex polymer-carbon black composite particles as a photothermal conversion material. The latex polymer-carbon black composite particles can be formulated in water or water-miscible solvents without agglomeration with other components such as charged polymers.