Abstract: Copolymers containing from 5 to 50 mol % of monomers having o-nitrocarbinol ester groups, from 94 to 30 mol % of methacrylonitrile, from 1 to 20 mol % of olefinically unsaturated copolymerizable carboxylic acid and from 0 to 30 mol % of other copolymerizable monomers as copolymerized units are useful for fabricating semiconductor components.